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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29949024">The Endgame</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrothersRowe/pseuds/TheBrothersRowe'>TheBrothersRowe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Endgame rewite, F/F, F/M, Gamora Loki and Vision are still dead, Includes different victims of the snap, Massive AU, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Protective Clint Barton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:29:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,888</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29949024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrothersRowe/pseuds/TheBrothersRowe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>SNAP!</p><p>The noise was deafening, temporarily stunning all that were near. Cap was the first one to refocus, looking around the battlefield with wide eyes. Thanos was gone, all that remained was Thor’s hammer on the ground. </p><p>“Where’d he go?” Steve asked, trying to find any signs of the Titan. The Captain held his injured side, taking a cautious breath to avoid injuring his ribs any further. He looked around some more before staring at his comrade, “Thor..? Where’d he go?”.</p><p>As he looked at Thor, a strange weightless feeling struck him, his knees nearly buckling at the feeling. “Steve?!” He could hear Bucky’s voice, not used to the sheer panic in his friend’s voice.</p><p>In which others passed in the snap. How will fate change as others vanish and others live?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Carol Danvers, Clint Barton &amp; Lila Barton, Clint Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Drax the Destroyer/Mantis, Gamora/Peter Quill, Groot &amp; Rocket Raccoon, James "Bucky" Barnes &amp; Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (One sided on Bucky's), Lila Barton &amp; Pietro Maximoff, Lila Barton &amp; Wanda Maximoff, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pietro Maximoff &amp; Wanda Maximoff, Steve Rogers &amp; Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff/Vision</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Weightless</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> SNAP! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The noise was deafening, temporarily stunning all that were near. Cap was the first one to refocus, looking around the battlefield with wide eyes. Thanos was gone, all that remained was Thor’s hammer on the ground. </p><p> </p><p>“Where’d he go?” Steve asked, trying to find any signs of the Titan. The Captain held his injured side, taking a cautious breath to avoid injuring his ribs any further. He looked around some more before staring at his comrade, “Thor..? Where’d he go?”.</p><p> </p><p>As he looked at Thor, a strange weightless feeling struck him, his knees nearly buckling at the feeling. “Steve?!” He could hear Bucky’s voice, not used to the sheer panic in his friend’s voice.</p><p> </p><p>Steve looked at Bucky, about to ask what’s wrong when he looked down at the hand on his side. The source of the feeling was found, the Captain’s eyes widening as his hand faded into dust. “STEVE!” Bucky screamed, his heart clenching when he saw the horrified look on Steve’s face, the sheer terror.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was going to die. N-No, he couldn’t! No, he had to help fix this, he had to help his team. H-He… his team needed him, he was so scared of what would happen to Bucky and Natasha. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“No, no, Steve!” Bucky ran as fast as he could, but when he reached out for his friend, all he could grasp was dust. Bucky dropped to his knees gasping, staring at the dust pile in horror. Bucky’s hands trembled heavily, his metal fingers touching the dusted ground. Slowly he looked up to Thor, only to find him fading as well.</p><p> </p><p>The sight hardly affected the Thunder God, if anything, he was waiting for it at this point. “Father, Heimdall, Loki, my people. I will join you in Valhalla.” Thor whispered, closing his eyes as he vanished into dust.</p><p> </p><p>The loss was not only felt here, in the battlefields of Wakanda, warriors left and right faded away faster than any could rescue. M’Baku looked around in horror, witnessing the death of his people. Searching the forest, T’Challa was relieved as he found Okoye on the ground. “Up, general. Up! This is no place to die” T’Challa took Okoye’s arm, but as he started to lift her he faded away. Okoye dropped back to the ground, in stunned horror as she stared at her hand then the wind as the dust blew away. </p><p> </p><p>The world around them became quiet, too quiet as many began to fade away into dust. The sound of the ground crunching beneath his feet was all Rocket could hear aside from the frail “I am Groot” as Groot began to fade away. “No, no, no, no. Groot.” Rocket tried to touch his face but it was too late, “No…”.</p><p> </p><p>A shaky breath left Pietro as he watched his allies fade one by one. He stood protectively beside Wanda and Vision’s body, refusing to leave her. “Pietro…” Upon hearing his name, Pietro turned, horrified as his sister began to fade away. “Wanda!” He cried out, reaching out for her. His fist clenched tightly, grasping dust as she was blown away. The white haired twin dropped to his knees, letting out a guttural scream as he slammed his fist onto the ground.  For once… he was too slow.</p><p> </p><p>Damnit, that fight really fucked them up. Sam groaned as he began pushing himself off of the floor, lifting his head up upon hearing Rhodes yelling for him. “Yeah-?” Sam turned, finding no one there, “Rhodes?”.</p><p> </p><p>Those that remained in Wakanda were left with the guilt of surviving, of failing, of letting Thanos win. “Rhodes?” Sam called out.</p><p> </p><p>Thanos’ snap was true, not just affecting Earth but those off it as well. The injured leaned on each other, the group gathering together. A mournful looked crossed Mantis’ face, knowing what had happened. “Something’s happening.” She said. As her words left her, Quill vanished from her arms. Everyone looked in horror, how could he just have gone?</p><p> </p><p>But he was not the only one, Drax staring as his arms vanished. “Mantis?” He managed to utter, before vanishing.</p><p> </p><p>The four that remained looked around in panic, only stopping as they could hear Strange’s voice. “Tony.” The man began, “There was no other way.”. A soft exhale left him, the sorcerer fading away.</p><p> </p><p>“Mr. Stark?” No, god no not him. Not him too. “I don’t feel so good.” Peter whimpered, staggering as parts of his body began fading away, “I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t-”. Tony could only watch in horror as the boy faded away, nearly vomiting at the thought that in his last moments, Peter was afraid.</p><p> </p><p>His legs gave out, Tony trying to grab at the dust, but his attempts were futile.Mantis let out a shaky whimper, overwhelmed by all the anguish that filled the universe now. A weak sob let her, dropping to her knees as she held her head. “He did it.” Nebula said,</p><p> </p><p>Those that were still in Wakanda all gathered, Bucky and Sam flipping over Vision’s body. He might’ve started off as just some advanced programming, but over time he became a member of their team. Vision was an Avenger, and now he and many others were gone just like that.</p><p> </p><p>Natasha ran over as fast as she could, her heart dropping at what she saw. They were gone… Steve, Thor, Wanda… Gone. She could hear yelling, turning to see Bruce struggling to hold an erratic Pietro still with the remaining HulkBuster arm. “What… what happened?” Sam asked, looking away from the body while Bucky curled up.</p><p> </p><p>“We lost, that’s what! You let him win!” Pietro cried out, trying to free himself from Bruce.</p><p> </p><p>Even if Pietro hadn’t screamed it, they knew. The Avengers… had failed and now trillions were dead because of it.</p><p> </p><p>The snap rolled in slower to some places than others. By all accounts it was a beautiful day, the sun shining as the Barton’s did all sorts of things on their farm. Clint stood behind Lila, teaching her tricks on using the bow. It made him smile with how enthusiastic she was about learning. Most 14 year old girls  were obsessed with their phones and make-up. Lila? She wanted to be the best archer, just like her dad. It made him proud, but also worried. She was a lot like him, too much like him sometimes, it worried him. </p><p> </p><p>Still, he kept up a smile as he helped her aim, adjusting her feet and playing with her hair to get her to giggle. “Alright, ready? Straight fingers.”</p><p> </p><p>A warm smile passed over Laura as she watched the two, Cooper and Nathaniel playing catch not far from where she was. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, you guys want mayo, mustard, or both?” Laura called out.</p><p> </p><p>This made Lila lower the bow, looking at her father with a grossed out look. “Who wants mayo on a hot dog?” She asked, making him chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“Probably your brothers.” He whispered, before turning two his wife, “Two mustard, please! Thank you mama!”. “Got it! Nate, how about mayo or mustard?”. “How about ketchup.”</p><p> </p><p>As her mother and brother continued discussing food, Lila retook her aim. Clint stepped back, watching her with a smirk. Pulling her arm back, she released the arrow, getting a bullseye. “Good job, Hawkeye.” Clint chuckled, high fiving his daughter.</p><p> </p><p>Lila smiled but it faltered a bit, turning to where she fired the arrow, “I wish Wanda and Pietro could’ve seen that.”.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, by time they get back, I’m positive you can fire at least three of those into a bullseye with your eyes closed.” Clint said, patting her back, “Now get your arrow.”. Lila rolled her eyes, walking over to the tree. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey guys, enough practice! Soups on!” Laura called out.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re coming, we’re hungry. Lila, let’s go.” Clint turned towards his daughter, about to wave her over when he saw the horrified look on his daughter’s face. “Lila? Lila, honey what’s wrong?” He asked. The girl held up a trembling hand, making her dad look over to find Laura and the boys missing. </p><p> </p><p>Looking around the farmland, he saw no sign of them. “Stay here.” Dropping the arrows, “Babe! Boys! Boys, where are you?!”. Clint ran around frantically, whistling but was unable to find any sign of them.</p><p> </p><p>He prepared to run more until he heard Lila crying, making him turn and run to her. “W-Where are they?” She cried, struggling to calm her breathing as she looked around.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey, look at me.” Clint gently took her head, letting her look at him, “Copy my breathing, okay? Just like a when you fire an arrow, deep breath in, deep breath out. In and out, in and out. Remember, be like the arrow.”.</p><p> </p><p>A choked whimper, but Lila slowly nodded, sniffling. “What are we gonna do..?”</p><p> </p><p>“I… I don’t know. But it’s gonna be okay, I promise. We’re going to get them back, no matter what.” He hugged his daughter tightly, letting her cry against him. Clint let out a shaky breath as he held her, what the hell were they going to do?</p><p> </p><p>Elsewhere, Fury and Hill were trying to figure out things on their own. “Still no word from Stark?” Fury asked.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re watching every satellite on both hemispheres, but still nothing.” Hill responded. She paused as he heard a beeping noise, alerting Fury as well. </p><p> </p><p>“What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Multiple bogies. Over in Wakanda.”</p><p> </p><p>He prepared to discuss it more, but Maria looked forward as a car suddenly swerved in front of them. “Nick, Nick, Nick!” She exclaimed, successfully stopping him in time. </p><p> </p><p>As the two stepped out, they quickly realized that something was terribly wrong. Stepping out of the car finding the other one empty, chaos all around them as the snap had reached them too. It only took a blink for one of them to vanish, staring around at the chaos. </p><p> </p><p>Fury took out a device from his pocket, witnessing his own hand fading. Damn, this was not how he expected to go. As the man faded, he dropped the device, revealing a symbol on it. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The universe could only hope that what remained of the Avengers could save the many that had been lost.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. To The Garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Twenty-three days had passed since the dreaded snap. Those that were still alive had congregated to the compound, struggling to come up with an idea of what to do. A heavy sigh left Natasha as she looked around, spotting Clint and Lila out of the corner of her eye. The young girl leaned against her father, her eyes red and puffy. Clint  ran his fingers through her hair, staring off into space. He was a mess, not that Natasha could blame him. In a blink he had lost almost his entire family.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>None of them were doing well though. Bucky had hardly spoken since Cap’s death, Sam was struggling to keep it cool. Wakanda had been in complete disarray with their king and princess gone. As far as she knew, new Asgard was currently being watched over by a friend of Thor and Bruce. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of all of them, she was most worried about the speedster. Not worried for his emotions per say, but what he would do with the rage and anger building within him. He made sure they all knew that he blamed them for his sister’s death, only staying at the compound for Barton. After all… he owed the man his life for taking in him and his sister, treating them as family despite their past actions. So he remained for Clint and Lila.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila lifted her head slightly hearing Pietro whizz by, sitting on the floor beside her and her father. The poof of messy white hair had become far too familiar to her in the past years, there was no doubt she considered the twins her older siblings now. Adjusting her head, she rested it on her father’s lap, reaching out for Pietro’s hand. Seeing this, he pondered a moment before taking her hand, giving it a small squeeze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The silent amongst them was unbearable, it got to the point where Pietro wanted to scream at any of them. His thoughts were interrupted though as the building began to shake, Lila instantly clinging to him. Natasha was the first out and soon enough the rest of them followed after them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The remaining Avengers rushed outside, shocked by what they saw. A glowing woman was flying down, a massive space ship resting in her grasp as she flew down, eventually landing the ship. “Now we’re really seen it all.” Pietro murmured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hull opened up and Nat and Clint were running over as fast as they could the moment they saw Tony. Jesus, he looked horrible. Then again they all did. They all had been struggling to sleep for weeks now, working so hard to keep the remaining civilization at peace and to protect what family they had left, all at the same time as they searched for Thanos.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two Avengers helped Tony down, frowning at the condition of their friend. “What happened up there?” Clint asked, how the hell did this happen..?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I lost the kid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Kid? What ki-Oh shit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon seeing him, Pepper rushed over to him, tears spilling from her eyes as she could see he was actually alive. He was here, he was alive. Stopping before him, Pepper gently took his hands, giving a watery smile. “You’re here.” Pepper wasted no tie embracing him, taking in his breathing and heartbeat. She’d never take these sounds for granted ever again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the couple reunited, the remaining guardians approached each other. “Quill..? Drax?” Rocket asked, looking between the two women.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mantis shook her head tearfully, the anguish surrounding them was overpowering. It was so strong she could tell each member they had lost, the pain radiating through all of the Avengers. Staring at her for a moment, Rocket took a few tentative steps forward before wrapping his arms around her legs. Mantis leaned down hugging him and even Nebula placed a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no one else with you?”  Sam asked. The look on Tony’s face gave them all the answers they needed. This was it. They were all that was left...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, let’s get you inside.” Pepper softly said, guiding him inside of the compound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Attaching Tony to an IV, the man watching all the names flashing of those lost during the snap. His stomach dropped seeing Cap’s image flash up, his mouth dropping a bit as he stared in disbelief. “He’s… Roger’s is gone?” Tony questioned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha gave a gentle nod, sighing as Bucky hurried out of the room. She hadn’t been the closest to Bucky, but she could see the toll Steve’s death had on him. After all, he was right there in front of him, he faded right in his grasp. “Steve was the first one we lost…” Natasha sighed, looking to where Bucky ran off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After all the hell Steve had gone through to keep Bucky alive, it wasn’t fair that he was here and Steve wasn’t. The Winter Soldier had endured many horrors over his life, but to lose his closest friend had to be the greatest pain. Sometimes Natasha would pass the barracks and hear him wake up yelling or pass the gym and see him abusing one of the punching bags. If she was honest, she was concerned for what he’d do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus. I never thought… He always seemed so invincible.” Tony murmured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So did Thor.” Bruce frowned, rubbing his knuckles. God, he missed him…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The morale was low within the team, Thanos had succeeded. With fifty percent of all living creatures dead, they had an estimated trillions dead. So many friends, lost because of that bastard. “We need to find out where Thanos is.” Sam stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And do what?” Clint said, playing with Lila’s hair to soothe her, “We have no idea where he is and last I heard, he tore you guys apart.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Need I remind you that he dropped a moon on me.” Tony added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He prepared to say something else when he looked over, finding Pietro speeding back and forth in a blue blur. Damn, if he kept pacing like this he’d actually burn a hole in the ground. “What’s with the quickster?” Tony questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kid blames himself for not being fast enough.” Rocket responded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly at this exact second I thought you were a build-a-bear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sam shook his head at the banter, looking at the team, especially Bucky who finally returned, “We’ve been searching for Thanos for nearly three weeks… we haven’t found anything. Nothing on satellites, nothing.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing this made something inside Tony snap, his anger boiling over. “You know what? This never would’ve happened if everyone had just listened to me! Put a suit around the world, but noooooo. Perfect Rogers said no, freedom or some bullshit!” Tony exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You better watch what you say Tony.” Bucky scowled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or what? You’ll kill me too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing how heated things were getting, Clint motioned Lila to stand up. “Hey, sweetie, Sam has this great stash of mint chocolate chip and rocky road ice cream in the kitchen. Why don’t you and Pietro go get some?” Clint said, rubbing her shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing his name snapped Pietro out of his pacing, looking down as Lila walked over, taking his hand. “Let’s go get some ice cream, I know you love mint chocolate chip.” She softly said. Pietro looked at her then to Clint, who gave him a nod. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Pietro held Lila’s hand and the two walked off to the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things only grew more heated as Tony kept going on, eventually tearing the core off of his chest and threw it at the ground. Instantly he dropped to the ground, passing out a few moments later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pepper and Bruce had taken him to the infirmary, watching over him while the others stared through the window. “We’re falling apart.” Clint grimaced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“From what I’ve seen, it seems like you guys were always broken.” Bucky bitterly stated from his seat, getting a look from Natasha.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence, all of them looking up as Carol turned away, heading down the hall. “Where are you going?” Natasha questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To kill Thanos.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This caught them off guard, was she serious? Thye barely made a dent in him and his army as a team and now she claimed she could handle this by herself? The four gave each other a look before Natasha followed after her. As she made her way over Bucky suddenly cut in front of her, standing in front of the blonde woman with an angered expression. “Listen, don’t think you can just show up after not doing anything for us. We all want payback, you have no right to just act superior.” Bucky growled out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha hurried over to step between them before this resulted in a fight, looking at Carol, “Listen, we’re a team. We have to work together to find Thanos.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’d never find him anyways, we haven’t.” Clint added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know where he is.” Everyone looked over to see it was Nebula that had spoken. The blue cyborg made her way to the console, opening up the galaxy map, swiping until she stopped on a planet. “He went to the garden.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A snort left Clint before he could stop himself, “So what? He wanted to retire too? Fucking perfect.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you find him?” Pietro asked, showing up with Lila and their ice cream, “Tell me you found where Thanos went.”. Clint nodded much to his relief, opening up his arms as Lila made her way over. She sat down by her father, letting him mess with her hair while she ate his ice cream. It was something simple, but it calmed both of them down. He was doing his best to keep her calm with everything going on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning back towards the galaxy map, Rocket began explaining their theory, “The snap created the largest power surge ever known in history and because of that we found a trail that leads to this planet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then that’s it, we go there and get the stones.” Natasha said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it really that easy though? How do we know that this will even work? How can we beat him with the stones this time, we lost last time.” Banner stated, anxiously messing with his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t matter now. If we have a chance, we have to take it. There’s got to be a chance that those stones will bring everyone back.” Pietro remarked, praying that he would be able to see his sister again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The team was split with the idea, unsure if it would even work. The most concerned was Bruce, afraid of having to fight Thanos again or losing any more friends. “We don’t even know if it’ll work.” Bruce remarked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We owe it to all the friends and family that aren’t here in this room.” Clint stated, holding his daughter close. Damnit, they all had been through too much to give up now. He was going to get his family back no matter what. “We won’t lose.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We won’t, because now you have me.”. Hearing this was starting to agitate the others, she wasn’t there in the fight, she had no room to talk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A scoff left Sam, throwing his arms in the air, ‘Wonderful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro’s blood began to boil as he looked at the woman, a blur of blue rushing forward as he was suddenly in front of her, “Tell me. If you are so special, why were you not here?!  Why did you not help stop him? You could have helped us win, instead you were who knows where! USELESS! You saved NO ONE!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite screaming in her face, Carol kept a steely gaze, “There are a lot of other planets in this universe. And unfortunately, they didn’t have you guys. So remember that next time.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His fist trembled but he stepped back, swearing something in Sokovian before storming out of the room. “Alright, everyone else, suit up. We’re gonna get this bastard.” Natasha said, looking at those in the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The team gathered together, checking their weapons. Clint checked his arrows when he felt a tug on his shirt. “Do you have to go?” Lila pleaded, looking up at her father. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A gentle sigh left Clint, pushing Lila’s hair back. “I have to go sweetie, we’re going to bring back your mom and brothers. I won’t be gone too long. I promise, I am going to bring them back no matter what.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her worry didn’t settle but slowly Lila nodded, hugging her father tightly, her tears seeping into his best. “I love you, daddy.” She whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you too, Hawkeye.” He gave a small smile, sending her off to wait with Pepper and Tony until they got back. Once she was gone, he let out a shaky sigh, leaning against the table as he rested his head in his hands. With taking care of Lila he hardly had the chance to mourn for his family. It took all his strength to keep it in, even with all they had endured over the years, the killing, the torture, his past, all of it, this was the hardest he ever had to fight to keep in his emotions. “Keep it together… You gotta keep it together.” He muttered, running his fingers through his hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I won’t tell anyone if you cry, right?” Clint nearly jumped hearing Natasha, turning to see her standing at the doorway. “You lost a lot and I know how strong you’re trying to be for Lila and Pietro.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint let out a shaky breath, rubbing his eyes. “I’m gonna be fine, I’ll be okay once I can hold my wife and boys again. Once Lila can be with her brothers and mother, once Pietro and Wanda are back together. So let’s go get him.” His voice wavered lightly but he didn’t care, taking his bow as he headed out to joining everyone else on the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of them piled into the ship, it was a strange experience considering half of them had never been to space. It was a nauseating ride but they got there in time, Natasha groaning from the speed. “Too fast…” Pietro grasped, his knuckles white as he gripped his seat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol rolled her eyes, flying out of the ship to do some recon. “So… who else doesn’t like her?” Sam asked, Bucky, Pietro, Nebula, and Rocket rose their hands in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took some time for Carol to return but at least the view was gorgeous. “No defense. No armies. Just Thanos.” She explained. I relieved the group slightly but also worried them. Even alone, he was powerful with the stones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was showtime then. While the rest of the team landed down, Carol flew towards the house. Reeling her fist back, Carol prepared to unleash her powers when a sudden blast came from the house, sending her crashing into the ground with a yell. Her ears rang violently as a quaking pain coursed through her body, broken gasps leaving her. A guttural cry left her as she tried to sit up, her inside aflame.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Danvers!” Clint hurried over, seeing the woman on the ground. He helped her feet up, letting Carol see through spotty vision Thanos on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell happened?” Sam asked, seeing the injured Titan, half his body burnt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky made his way over, flipped his arm only for his stomach to drop. He dropped Thanos’ arm, looking at the group, “The stones are gone. Why aren’t they here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This startled them all, turning their focus to Thanos. “Where are the stones?” Clint asked, walking over with Carol leaning on him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A chuckle left Thanos, staring at the group before him, “The universe required correction.  After that the stones served no purpose… beyond temptation.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You murdered trillions!” Bruce cried out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should be grateful.” Thanos responded, “It’s simple, I knew you’d be coming eventually. So in order to keep the peace, I destroyed the stones with the stones.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment those words left his mouth they all froe in horror. No, no. He had to be wrong, he had to be! “He… he is not lying.” Mantis whimpered, covering her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol scowled, grunting as she got off of Clint, holding her side as she walked forward. “Enough of this. This is for everyone.” Carol held up her fist, ready to blast him but nothing happened. She stared at her hands confused, trying again but there was nothing. Thanos laughed at this and Carol scowled, continuing to try. As he laughed, the horror dawned on her, staring at the titan, “You took my powers.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your power came from the stones, once it was destroyed with you nearby, your powers faded as well.” Thanos responded, about to say more when suddenly Nebula approached him, driving her sword into the giant’s throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky could only stare at the fallen Titan in silence, his stomach dropping. “We’re too late.” He whispered, his metal arm shaking as he held Steve’s shield.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An anguished wail filled the air, Clint dropping to his knees as he slammed his fist into the ground. No, no dammit! They couldn’t be gone, he promised Lila, he promised he’d get them back! Natasha was about to make her way over when Pietro rushed past her, vanishing with a blue trial following him. “Pietro!” Natasha shouted, but he was gone from sight. Grimacing, she knelt down beside her friend, struggling to console him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As everyone left the home one by one, Carol could only stare at the corpse of Thanos. She felt so empty without her powers, she was so powerful and then in a single second he took them away from her. Without another word, Carol stepped out of the home, walking out with a dead look in her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was it… they had… they had lost.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Carol is getting a massive rewrite. She could've been a good hero but nopeeeeee</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Broken World</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>FIVE YEARS LATER</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half a decade had passed since the tragic snap. Trillions had died as a result, those unlucky enough to live were mourning, struggling to move on. The world had gone drastically quiet, as if all life was truly gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Within the compound had a tiny shred of life, the firing range being lit up by one of the few Avengers the remained. The second one magazine was empty, another was loaded. The world around him rang but he didn’t care, firing round after round at the targets despite the dozens of bullet holes that riddled them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as he prepared to put in another magazine, he heard something shift behind him, turning hastily with his gun still drawn. “Woah, woah! Jesus Bucky, it’s me!” Lila exclaimed, holding her hands up defensively to show she had her bow and quiver.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An aggravated huff left Bucky, lowering his gun, “You’re supposed to knock. And why are you here anyways?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small smile formed on Lila’s face, “Dad always said I’d learn how to land three bullseyes blind folded next time I see Pietro.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila still hadn’t known the full story of what happened with Thanos, but she knew that they couldn’t reverse it. The look on Pietro’s face when he returned was seared into her brain, the broken man who she saw as her big brother, shattered knowing he couldn’t bring Wanda back. It hurt that she couldn’t do anything then to help him, but her dad was searching for him. And recently they had found a development, they’d finally have Pietro back after five years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now I’m gonna steal the training course from you. You should go shower and clean up, dad is having one of his meetings.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint sat in the meeting room, looking at the projections of Nebula, Rocket, Mantis, Okoye, and Sam. “How was the report on those tremors?” Clint asked, scrolling through his tablet before looking back up. Bucky headed in with a fresh pair of clothes, sitting down beside Clint as he looked through his own list.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Twas a mild subduction under the African plate.” Okoye responded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint gave a tired nod, scrolling through Mantis’ list of what was going on in other planets. A plate clinking caught his attention, looking up as Lila placed down two PB and J sandwiches, “Don’t forget to eat.”. His daughter sat on the desk, eating her as she listened in on the conversation. God, he couldn’t believe she was nineteen now. His poor girl was such a scared child when this started and now she had been becoming what he didn’t want her to become. Another Hawkeye. Sure he loved the training, but the idea of her in this job and field terrified him, he didn’t want her to do what he had done. All Clint wanted was for his family to be happy and safe, but because of Thanos they had none of that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A mournful look was casted over Mantis’ face, the last five years being difficult on the empath, “Many planets are in pain just like earth. We are doing our best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, call us if you need anything.” Bucky responded, watching as one by one the holograms shut off. A heavy sigh left him, shaking his head, “I have no idea how Steve could do all of this.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Steve thought with his emotions a lot, but he was a good leader.” Natasha said, alerting the others that she was there. Bucky gave a slow nod, holding Steve’s locket in his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How many people was he going to lose?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stood up, heading out and made his way back towards the training room. Seeing how glum the mood had gotten, Lila climbed off the table, sipping her tea. “I’m gonna head out, see the whales.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whales?” This got her aunt’s attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re in the Hudson river, it’s so pretty. I’ll take some pictures and I won’t stray too far from the compound.” Lila gave a genuine smile, making her father smile. Stuffing her phone into her hoodie, Lila kissed her father’s head before heading out towards the bridge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she left his sight, Clint sighed aloud, rubbing his temples. “She’s growing up too fast, Nat.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clint, she’s doing great. You know that. There’s no way she’ll end up like us, because unlike us she has a great father like you.” Natasha said, leaning over to squeeze his leg, “She knows how hard you’re trying and is proud of you.”. His silence made her sigh, knowing he felt himself as a failure because of… Laura and the boys. “Clint, she knows. Hell, you hear her. She wants to be an Avenger just like you. I’ve heard her beg for you to get her a real hero suit.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon hearing the suit Clint groaned, but Natasha could see the smile. “Lila said because she lives in the compound and trains with us, she’s an Avenger. That and she demands her suit be purple and black.” Clint explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Better get started, your daughter is just as stubborn as you.” Nat smiled, only pausing as she looked at the screen. “That’s from the front gate.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a bit but they eventually got Scott back inside, the group confused with how he was here. The man paced back and forth and he rambled on and on about the Quantum Realm. “Is that anyone’s sandwich?” Scott asked, taking the sandwich off of the table. “Not anymore, but I get what you mean. Time works completely differently and if you go back at the right point then you can go back in time!” Lila grinned, “Holy shit, time travel!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, mouth young lady!” Clint exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You understand this?” Natasha asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila let out a nervous chuckle, “We have a lot of books at home. I mean what else am I supposed to do for five years? I read and trained a lot.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I’ll be damned.” Clint said, Natasha giving her niece an amused smile, “So what’s the plan Lang?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We travel back in time, before Thanos did the snap. This is our chance to bring everyone back. We owe it to everyone that he took to do this. We need to take this chance.” Scott stated, “But we’re gonna need some help.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha bit her lip a bit before looking at Clint, the two knowing who they needed to contact. “We know just the guy.” Natasha stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a peaceful drive to Tony’s new home. The faint chirping of birds and even the gentle breeze outside the car. “You know, if everything hadn’t happened this would have been the perfect place to retire.” Natasha remarked, looking around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know there’s no such thing as retirement for us.” Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After some time the car stopped, everyone climbed out and was welcomed by the sight of their old friend on the porch with his young daughter. Nat gave a small wave, looking back worried as she could see Bucky taking a step back. Well, this was going to be difficult. She was beginning to wonder if they should’ve left Bucky with Lila. Oh well, it was too late for that. Time to just rip off the bandaid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To no one's surprise, Tony absolutely refused to partake in this. Going on about how it wouldn’t work and they were insane for trying. Were they trying to destroy the world further? No, he had too much at stake here. The more Tony spoke, the more agitated Clint became.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You weren’t the only one that lost family, damnit!” Clint snapped, Bucky hastily pulling him away from Tony to prevent a fight. The conversation didn’t go the way they wanted at all, Tony eventually asking them to leave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint stomped down the steps, heading to the car. “He’s scared Clint, he’s got a family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So did I, Natasha. Lila was terrified and so was Pietro.” It hurt thinking of where he could be, Sam had an idea but it made him worried. He was worried for his kid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A tsk left Bucky, looking back at the house for a moment. He saw the look on Tony’s face, the unspoken fear that he'd take his family just like he took his parents. No, he’d never do that again. But Bucky knew that he’d never be able to make up for what he did, Tony would never forgive him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can still do this, we just need a bigger brain.” Natasha said, looking up as realization hit her. Time to see an old friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group had met up at the designated diner, waiting for any sign of Banner. “Where is he? At this rate Clint and Lila are gonna be back before him.” Scott said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bucky shrugged, digging into his omelet. He’ll admit, he hadn’t exactly been taking the best care of himself but who could resist a fresh omelette and a cup of coffee? “Barton said he was picking up Lila from the compound, but I think we all know what he’s doing.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sigh left Natasha, knowing what he meant. Pietro vanished right after Thanos died, never being seen from or heard from again. Clint had been searching desperately for his adopted son, feeling responsible for him and Wanda but had come up with nothing. That was until a few days ago, a small Russian mob was found dead. The strangest part was there were no physical wounds, it appears that they were all just dead. Seeing the look of their bodies though confirmed their worst suspicion, the red eyes nearly bulging out, the sight of their lungs. All suffocated with no physical marks on them, it was as if the air was just… sucked out of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clint will be here. And so will-” Natasha paused as she heard heavy footsteps behind them, making her turn around. Her eyes widened seeing who it was behind her, Hulk..? “Bruce..?” Nat asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hulk gave a smile, sitting at the end of the table. The fact that he could even sit was impressive, all of them just staring at him. Was this real? Last they knew, Bruce couldn’t even turn into the Hulk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Do I have something in my teeth?” Bruce asked, opening his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was the sound of two pairs of footsteps hurrying over, one being in boots and the others in sneakers for sure. “Sorry we’re late, is-Oh shit!” Clint gaped seeing Bruce.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way, uncle Bruce?” Lila gaped, before turning to her dad, “‘Mouth.’”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint ignored his daughter, looking at Bruce before taking a seat. ‘“I.. Wow. So what, you can control the Hulk now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I used to treat the Hulk like it was a disease, something that I needed to get rid of. But now I know it’s the cure.” Bruce smiled, smirking as Lila took a seat by her father, “You used to be small, but you're still small.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I am 5’5 thank you very much.” Lila retorted, leaning over her dad to take a piece of bacon from his plate. Sure she wasn’t an ‘Avenger’ yet, as if, so if she couldn’t contribute to the conversation then why not eat some good chow while the adults talk? It was still so funny to her whenever people would come up to her aunts and uncles asking for photos. Like she knew they were literally the greatest heroes but fan photos were still hilarious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bruce.” Nat snapped them all back into focus, “Will you help us?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bruce grimaced lightly, scratching the back of his neck, “I don’t know, Nat. This isn’t my field. I don’t know if I can help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bruce, please. This is our one chance to get everyone back. We all have to be onboard, we have to be a team.” She leaned over, taking his hand in hers, giving him a small smile. The last few years… they had been hectic, of course, but her feelings for Bruce never changed. She still wanted to have that future with him and if they defeated Thanos then they could have that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a pause before Hulk put his hands over Natasha’s, “Okay. I’m in. What’s the first step?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got an idea.” Scott grinned, knowing what they had to do.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Timey Wimey Mishaps</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everyone had gathered at the compound, looking at the van as Bruce set up the controls. “This is it?” Bucky asked, raising a brow, “Are we sure this is gonna work? How do we know that he’s going to even come out of that in one piece?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing this made Scott look up in panic, “You’re joking, right?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course he’s joking.” Natasha said, hastily elbowing Bucky to shut him up. Sure that they had no idea what they were doing, but still this was their only chance. If there was any chance for them to bring back everyone that had been lost then they needed to take it.  “You’re gonna be fine Scott, don’t worry.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila watched wide eyed, this was insane. Time travel? Her dad told her crazy stories but she never thought that she’d actually be here to witness it! Like holy shit! “This reminds me of that movie we used to watch with your brothers and sister.” Clint smiled a bit, god, this had to work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then let’s watch it again when we win, victory movie.” Lila smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila nearly jumped out of her seat as Scott suddenly vanished into the van. “Was that supposed to happen?” Bucky asked, looking around then to Bruce. Bruce let out a nervous noise, struggling with the controls due to his massive hands. “Bruce, give me an answer!” Bucky demanded. Bruce kept struggling with the control, trying to figure it out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things were not calming down as suddenly Scott showed up, looking much younger. “What just happened?” Clint asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Scott, is that you?” Nat questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course it’s me!” Scott shouted, his voice much more pitched. Oh god, going through puberty again sounded like agony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Messing with the controls, Bruce tried again and again, Scott coming out different each time until he finally came back normal. So, that was certainly interesting to witness. “Time travel!” Bruce beamed, getting a look from everyone else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna die.” Bucky groaned, facepalming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While everyone else was discussing time travel even more, Bucky made his way outside to take a moment to himself. “Don’t know how you always stayed so positive, Steve. Things look really bleak right now.” Bucky murmured, “What if we can’t-”. Bucky’s thoughts were interrupted as a car sped forward, nearly hitting him if he hadn’t rolled out of the way. Forcing himself off of the ground, Bucky went for his gun, only stopping when he saw who had come out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, didn’t see you there, Buddy.” Tony said, climbing out of the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure you didn’t.” Bucky huffed, putting the gun back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring him, Tony walked around the other side of the car towards the trunk. “Listen up, you and I are not friends. We never will be. I’m here to fix this because I’m guessing you guys didn’t get it working. Wait, why do I bother? You probably don’t understand.” Tony held up his hand, showing off the stranger device on his hand, “This is what we need to get through time but I have to list my priorities. We bring everyone back, I keep what we have, and no one dies.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well… that seemed understandable enough. “Deal.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony gave a small nod, walking to the back of the car, popping open the trunk. Bucky’s eyes widened at what he saw, the familiar red, white, and blue shield. The original Captain America shield, he hadn’t seen it since they all fought in Germany. “You better make him proud.. Dipshit.” Tony gave him a curt nod before heading inside, “Time to get the team back together.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky watched him leave, staring at the shield in his arms. Slowly his finger trailed across it, his heart sinking remembering Steve. Even before he was a super soldier, Steve was always a hero. His hero. Steve had done so much to save him and now… now he was gone. “Damnit, I’m going to save you even if it kills me.” Bucky whispered, strapping the shield on his back as he made his way inside the compound to join the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Time to pay you back for all the times you saved my ass.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the two had headed inside, Scott was outside trying to enjoy his lunch. Of course, nothing went his way, the spaceship lowering and the intense winds caused the fillings to fly away. He frowned, looking up to see Nebula, Rocket, and Mantis coming out of the ship. “Hey guys!” Scott called out, getting a scowl from Nebula.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Where’s the big green?” Rocket called from the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, I think he’s inside.” Scott looked back just in time to see Hulk walking over, offering him two tacos. Thanks, but he would’ve liked a warning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Passing off the food, Bruce made his way to the ship. They were going to need all the help they could get and that meant going on a little field trip. Climbing in the spaceship, Bruce was surprised to look back to Bucky running over to join them. Well, who was he to deny him in? Heading up to the front, the three strapped in and headed for New Asgard. Looking back to where Bucky was, Bruce could see Steve’s old shield on his back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So that’s what this was about. Sure he didn’t know Bucky as much as everyone else, but he knew how close him and Steve were. Heck, Bruce thinks he knew that Bucky saw Steve as more than a friend. They were all determined to bring everyone back, but the look on Bucky’s face and the need to repay Steve for everything was a strong thought in the soldier’s mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trip to New Asgard was relatively quiet, eventually the three hitched a ride on a truck to make it within the town. “This is really a step down from the gold towers.” Rocket commented, hopping out of the truck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, take it easy. First they lost their home and then half their people and their king.” Bruce whispered, apologizing to any that looked over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here comes your friend.” Bucky calls out, waving them over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bruce turned with a smile, grinning as Valkyrie made her way over, “There’s my angry girl.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I liked you both when you were the other way.” Valkyrie stated, before folding her arms over her chest, “Alright, spit it out. What do you want? You hardly visit so you must want me to do something.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although he tried to deny it, she had him. Thus Bruce began to explain their plan to her, how they intended to bring back everyone that they had lost and stop Thanos. Right, as if recovering the stones would be that easy. Then again, neither was being a Valkyrie or fighting Hela. “Alright, fine. I’m in for this suicide mission, better then dealing with squabbles and ‘leadership’ duties. But we’re going to need help, come on, let’s get inside and hope it’s not too early for her to drink.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three followed Valkyrie towards her home, hearing yelling coming from inside it. “Nevermind, guess it’s not too early.” Valkyrie shrugged, couldn’t judge her. Bruce looked at her confused and honestly a bit worried, the three following her inside and Bruce had a bit of a hard time coming in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am so sick of this! All I hear is about ‘NoobMaster69’ killing you. Fucking woman up!” A shrill voice was heard from inside the house and Bucky groaned in realization.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol Danvers stood in the center of the room going off on Miek and Korg about something. Her long golden locks had trimmed down into short cute, it did kind of look nice honestly. No longer did she sport her signature blue and red uniform, instead wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck, worn down blue jeans, and dirty brown boots. Seems this is where she ended up after losing her powers, in New Asgard working with the fishes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning around, Carol saw the three standing out the doorway. “Well lookie here!” Carol scoffed, staggering a bit as she walked over, “The worlds mightiest heroes, the Avengers! What? Need my help to save the world?”. A scoff left her as she took another swig of her beer, “Need me to help saveee the world? Of course ya do! Because if I was there, mister Captastic and the rest of them would be here, wouldn’t they?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before anyone could say anything, the rage boiled over within Bucky, yelling as he hit her. Carol dropped to the ground with a yell, her drink spilling over herself as she held her cheek. “Don’t you dare mock his name! DON’T! You don’t get to say what you would’ve done because you weren’t there! You have no idea what we have been through! You don’t deserve your powers or your title!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room had gone quiet after the outburst, everyone struggling to process a response. Wiping the blood from her nose, Carol looked around the room for any support but found none. “Fuck you.” Was all she could muster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky shook his head enraged, storming out of the room. “I appreciate the lesson but did you really have to hit my girlfriend?” Valkyrie called out as he left.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bruce scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, muttering an apology to her. “Don’t, alright? Just give me a few minutes to grab my things and then I’ll join you.” Valkyrie waved him off, turning towards Carol as the two left. “Come on, get up.” Valkyrie lifted her off the ground, Carol scowling lightly, “What?”.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Carol glared, walking over to the cooler, taking another beer from it, “Needed the lesson? Well, thank you for the lesson, Bruunhilde.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? It’s true. Carol, I love you, but you need to see things clearly. Your powers don’t make you a hero, you do.” Valkyrie stated, walking over to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol scoffed in response, leaning against the wall as she held the cold beer against her cheek. “And that’s coming from the mythical pegasus warrior?” Carol retorted, cracking the beer open and drinking from it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valkyrie walked over, snatching the beer from Carol and chugged it down. “Come on, it’s been five years. I know you wanna kick some ass.” Valkyrie stated, using her free hand to push back Carol’s bangs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence before Carol groaned, getting off the wall. “Fine. Only because going after the stones can bring back my powers.”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blonde knelt down, picking up the cooler, “But we’re bringing this with us.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only if we share. Now let me tell Korg we’re leaving.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Good lord, these two.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the boys had their adventure in Asgard, Lila and Clint were riding the quinjet to Moscow. “So, when can I have my hero suit?” Lila asked, playing with the string of her hood. She was honestly hoping that if she annoyed him enough that he’d just cave and finally say just.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I’ve already said this a hundred times, you are not getting a suit, you aren’t an Avenger.” Clint retorted, keeping his eyes forward as he flew the jet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An irritated groan left Lila, looking at her dad, “Come on! I’ve been helping out a ton, I deserved a suit. Plus, it’ll keep me safe! A hoodie and sweatpants won’t do anything when I go with you guys to take the stones! What if I get attacked or-”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That won’t happen because you aren’t coming with us to get the stones, you’re staying home. End of discussion.” Clint stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh come the fuck on!” “Watch your language.” “No, it’s not fair! This is what you have been training me to do for the past five years, I am not weak, dad! I can help, I know I can. So stop treating me like a kid, I can do this!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a strong silence, the two sitting there. Soon enough Clint sighed aloud, shaking his head, “I don’t think you’re weak, Lila. You’re stronger than a lot of people I know. And that’s why I’m scared for you, I’ve seen too many people die in this job. I trained you to protect yourself, but… I couldn’t protect your siblings from Thanos, I refused to lose you too.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila frowned as she looked at her father, leaning over to hold his hand, “I’m… Dad, I’m sorry. I know how hard it’s been on all of you guys and that’s why I want to help. You and aunt Nat trained me, I’ll be okay.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know. Look, we can discuss this when we get back to the compound, okay? Let’s find your brother, alright?” Clint looked up as they finally arrived, landing the ship down. Lila gave a small nod, looking out the window. “Hey, I love you, Hawkeye.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A tiny smile grew on Lila’s face, looking at her dad, “I love you, Hawkeye.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Giving her a smile, Hawkeye climbed out of his seat, the two of them walking outside. “Alright, let’s find him and get out of here.” Clint explained, leading the way. He wasn’t thrilled about this at all, from the reports he had seen, Pietro was becoming a dangerous killer. He prayed he could fix this before it was too late. The thought of him being too dangerous… if he proved to be a danger to Lila or any of the others, he’d make sure that he was down before he could blink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad, over there.” Lila called out, Clint spotting several bodies on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking out his bow, Clint ran ahead, “Stay back, Lila.”. His daughter grimaced but she stayed back, watching from her spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Checking his surroundings, Clint ran over to the bodies. “Jesus, kid.” Clint muttered, kneeling down by the bodies. Just like the past crime scenes, there were no physical injuries on their bodies. His powers made the most sense. After all, Pietro didn’t need to use his hands to choke someone out, all he had to do was run around him and cut off-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“UGH!” Clint cried out as he was suddenly knocked off his feet. Clint prepared to get up when suddenly he was knocked down again, landing on his back with a groan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The archer groaned as he tried sitting up, gasping as a foot was planted firmly on his chest. “Why are you here?” Pietro demanded, staring down at Clint. Clint frowned looking up at Pietro, the years had not been kind to him. His white hair had grown long and unkept, dark bags resting underneath his eyes, dark clothes hanging loosely on his body and blood splattered on them, a dead look on his face. “Why are you here, Clint?!’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re here to bring you home.” The two looked back to see Lila walking over, a tearful smile on the girl's face, “Hey there, Punk.”. Despite her father’s worried looks, Lila dropped her bow, walking over to the Enhanced man, slowly holding her hands up. “It’s been a long time, I really missed you.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked over to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro stared at the girl stunned, could this really be her..? God… she… she looked so much like Wanda now that she had grown up, had it really been five years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keeping her hands up, Lila walked over until she was in front of her, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “I… I missed you too, </span>
  <span>mladší sestra.” Pietro whispered, slowly returning the hug, holding her tightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well shit, guess bringing Lila was a good idea after all. Clint got up from the ground, dusting himself off. “Listen, we need your help Pietro.” Clint stated, holding his side a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not going back.” Pietro shook his head, letting go of Lila and prepared to run.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can reverse the snap! We’re going back in time to recover the stones and reverse what Thanos did.” Clint explained, watching the man carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro stopped in place, looking back with a shattered expression, his breath trembling lightly. “You… you can bring back Wanda?” He asked, walking over, “Do you really have a plan, Clint?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to bring everyone back, but we need all hands on deck for this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The quickster stood silently, looking at the two archers before nodding. He was going to get his sister back, no matter what. “Then let’s get going.” He hurried off to the ship, leaving behind a blue trail behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A faint smile cracked on Lila’s face, watching him go, “I missed him.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, so did I.” Clint patted his daughter on the shoulder, “You did good.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila’s smile grew, following her father to the quinjet, “Thanks. So about my suit.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Reassemble</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everyone had arrived to base, it was time to get to work. Carol prepared to sip from her beer as she walked over to the device, Valkyrie walking past her and taking the beer from her. A sly smirk formed on the woman’s face as she chugged it down in from of her girlfriend, tossing it to the ground as she joined Bruce.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, could you two get a room?” Tony asked, “Hey, punk, where’s that covering?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A trail of blue rushed forward, Pietro appearing with a lot of supplies in his arms. “I’m not your servant, Stark.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, get a move on, Jack Frost!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila watched nervously as Sam suited up her dad, biting her painted nails. “I don’t like this, it barely worked with that ant guy and he’s specialized in the quantum realm. We’re going off a bunch of guessing and estimates. How do we know that it won’t kill you or trap you?” Lila asked, looking at her father with worry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Bruce tested it. We’ll be fine.” Clint adjusted the suit on his body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know…” she checked his bow anxiously, looking to make sure his hearing aid was also working, “what if your comm or hearing aid break and you can’t get out?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I promised that I’d never leave you. I’m gonna keep that promise no matter what.” Clint said, turning to his daughter. “But dad-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can go.” The two looked over to see Bucky standing at the doorway, “I’ll do it.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I still think we should go back to when he was a baby and kill him!” Pietro called out as he walked by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One, that’s horrible. Two, time doesn’t work like that.” Bruce stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others seemed unconvinced by this but just shrugged it off. Not how time travel worked in everything else but whatever. Ignoring that, Clint got out of the suit allowing Bucky to get ready.  “Here goes everything.” He muttered as he made his way to the machine, giving Bruce a thumbs up. He really hoped that this wouldn’t blow him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bruce gave a countdown and in a blink of an eye Bucky was gone, being sent through the quantum realm. It was a hell of a trip, Bucky gasping as he landed on solid ground. Seemed like those years with HYDRA didn’t prepare him for everything after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The winter soldier took a moment to calm his breathing before standing up, looking around. “Where…?” He began, stopping as he looked around, realizing that he was in Wakanda. God, it had been years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking a few tentative steps forward, Bucky began walking around when he heard a voice that he never thought he’d hear again. Turning around, he saw Steve making his way towards the grassland… where he had stayed. “Steve.” Bucky gaped, he was there. It… it really worked, they could go back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, we’re going to bring you back in three.” Bruce announced over the comms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky gave a firm nod, putting his helmet back on as he looked at Steve walking off in the distance. “See you soon, Cap.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others waited anxiously for Bucky to return, relaxing as he appeared at the center of the machine. “It worked.” Pietro gasped, looking at Lila wide eyed who was just as shocked as he was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what this means then, people. Show time.” Tony smirked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone had gathered in the meeting room, discussing the stone's locations. Almost everyone had an encounter with an infinity stone at that point, so the easiest way to locate them was to find out where the stones were in their timeline.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How has everyone come in contact with the tesseract? Or the space stone, I mean it gave me my powers then it ends up in New York?” Carol asked, looking at the timeline that Lila and Bruce were drawing out on the whiteboard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well for one, it wasn’t just the tesseract in New York, yeah it was blue, but that was actually the mind stone.” Clint explained, grimacing at the memories, he was glad that bastard Loki was dead, “So both the mind stone and space stone are there.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon hearing this an idea formed in Natasha’s head, getting up from the table as she made her way over to the white board, stealing a marker from Bruce. “Guys, if you pick the right year… we have three stones in one place.” Natasha explained, writing the location for three stones, time, space, and mind. All in 2012 New York.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut the front door.” Bruce gaped, looking up to the redhead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I say that just made things a lot easier, now for the other three. I vaguely remember in one of Thor’s spats he was talking about his ex-girlfriend, Jane. Apparently she survived having an infinity stone inside her.” Valkyrie explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Removing the stone will take work, I shall calm to help her sleep.” Mantis offered, wanting to be helpful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And then the last two stones are on Morag.” Rocket added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This confused a fair few of them, “Morag? Is that a place or a planet?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Morag is a planet. Swear, none of you know anything.” Rocket scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then it’s settled, we know where all the stones are. Let’s go get them.” Carol stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With all stones located, it was time to get a movie. There would be three teams, those heading to New York, Asgard, and Morag. First would be New York, holding the mind, space, and time stone. Going after the mind stone would be Bucky and Natasha, they had to take HYDRA down quick and fast, then get out of there. Meaning that Tony, Carol, and Scott would be handling the space stone. All while Bruce went after the time stone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That left the other three stones. Valkyrie, Rocket, and Mantis would be heading to Asgard to get the reality stone from Jane. Clint, Pietro, Sam, Nebula, and Lila would all be heading to Morag for the two stones. Once they’d get there, Clint and Pietro would take the spaceship and head to Vormir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, this is it everyone. Three teams, one shot.” Natasha said, followed by silence amongst the group, “Steve was way better at those lines.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be tired of them after like five of them.” Tony quipped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha rolled her eyes, looking at everyone, “Suit up, grab what you need and then meet at the portal.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone split off, grabbing any weapons or tools that they’d need before they head out. Lila walked over to the metal box on the table about to open it when her dad grabbed her wrist. “You have your bow, I have mine.” He said, pushing her hand away, “Plus, I thought you’d be happy. You finally got your suit.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A groan left Lila, looking at her dad agitated, “You know this isn’t what I meant.”. She said more but covered her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, you know that’s not fair. You know I can’t hear everything with these things on. We can discuss things later.” Clint said, tossing the bow to Lila before heading out. She groaned, following after her dad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The white suits were a good look on all the Avengers, making their way towards the portal. This was their final chance to repair the world, there were no second chances after this. Everyone climbed on the portal, setting their watches up to the time they were going. Carol looked around the group, silent a moment before taking a breath, “Taking care of each other, no one dies.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her words were certainly a shock to the group. It seemed like that lesson Bucky gave her had an effect on her after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valkyrie shot her girlfriend a small smile, looking at the group as they got ready. “Don’t crash your first spaceship old man.” Pietro quipped, looking at the shrunken spacecraft in Clint’s hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, if I crash it I’ll be seeing you in hell.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad.” Lila groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha looked at the group, a hopeful smile on her face, “See you in a minute.”. And with that they were all gone.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. A Blink in Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>NEW YORK 2012</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The six landed down in New York, witnessing the fight against Loki and the Chitauri still going on. “Woah, I missed this?” Carol gaped, all of them tensing as 2012 Hulk jumped down, smashing things. A nervous groan left Bruce, covering his face in humiliation. Huh, so that’s what he used to be like.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony looked over to Bruce with an amused smile, folding his arms over his chest, “I think you should smash a few things on the way buddy. You know, really bring out the anger.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got this big guy, use this to remember how far you’ve come.” Natasha said, flashing him a smile. Bruce returned it, watching her run off with Bucky to find the mind stone. “I better get an invite to the wedding.” Tony said as Bruce left, smirking as his friend groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As everyone else got to their spots, Bruce made his way atop the New York sanctum, finding the Ancient One protecting it from any oncoming Chitauri. These sorcerers were really impressive, he only saw a bit from Strange but to see this was something else entirely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>ASGARD 2013</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three hurried past the cells, being careful not to be caught. Valkyrie stopped in her tracks, turning to flick Loki off before Mantis pulled her away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they were alone, the three stopped. “Rocket and I will handle Jane, he has a device.” Mantis explained, looking at her small friend beside her, “You will stay guard.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valkyrie was about to respond when she looked down the hall, her mouth dropping slightly in disbelief. “Queen Frigga…” She whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the Valkyrie had primarily served under Odin, the queen had treated them all with such respect and kindness. She.. they were warriors, but to her they were still her people whom she cared so much for. Her mind ran with her control, hurrying to where the queen was before the other two realized that she was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>MORAG 2012</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The five landed down, looking around the planet. “Space. Nate is gonna freak out when we tell him about this.” Lila smiled, this was really going to happen. They were going to get everyone back. Mom, Cooper, Nate, and Wanda, everyone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tried to be excited but groaned seeing everyone’s suits, “This sucks. When am I going to get a suit? I mean come on, who else is in sweat pants and a hoodie?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude, give her a suit already.” Sam said, looking at the two bickering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll discuss it when I get back. But maybe if we do get you one, it’s gonna be purple and black too.” Clint stated, saying it mainly to see her reaction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila beamed hearing this, growing more excited while Pietro let out a distasteful bleh, kicking one of the creatures away that tried to crawl up his leg. “Can we hurry this up? These damned rats are trying to eat my boots, damned vermin.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Don’t like these little guys?” Lila teased. Kneeling down to pick one up and hold it out to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro scoffed, speeding by her and knocking her off her feet. Lila yelped as she landed on the ground, the creature running off in a dash to get away from the insane heroes. “And you still have terrible balance.” He teased, joining Clint’s side by the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila groaned, standing up but she couldn’t help but have a small smile. God… she really missed him. “Stay safe you two.” She gave Pietro a hug before giving her father one, “I love you, dad. You better keep that promise of yours, we got a lot of stories to tell the boys and Wanda.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can compare stones after this.” Pietro smirked, speeding into the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint rolled his eyes at him, giving his daughter one more hug before heading into the ship with Pietro. A soft sigh left Lila, watching them leave. “Come on, we got our own stone to get.” Sam said, making her snap back into focus. “Yeah, coming.” Lila nodded, following after Nebula and Sam.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint turned on the ship, the two watching in awe as it sped through space. “Hey, I promised you a road trip didn’t I? We’re a long way from Budapest, but I know you and Lila will love it.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Budapest?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three made their way through the planet, eventually stopping when Nebula told them too. “We wait for Quill.” Nebula explained, “And then we hurry back, we’re not the only ones after the stone.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who else is looking for it?” Sam questioned, not too thrilled when he heard that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a grave look on the cyborg's face, turning to the two, “My father, my sister… me.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well shit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back in New York the team hadn’t gotten to their positions. Bucky and Nat would intercept the HYDRA soldiers with the mind stone. Carol was waiting on the first floor for 2012 Tony to show up with the mind stone, she intended to give them a show for sure. With her distraction along with Scott’s, it’d allow Tony to steal the stone from his past self.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hidden behind a pillar, Tony watched the past Avengers handle Loki. “Jesus, that suit did nothing for Cap’s ass.” Tony muttered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His ass was fine how it was.” Bucky groaned immediately as he said this, getting an amused look from Natasha. Carol chuckled from her line, seemed the Avengers were full of people falling in love with each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” Tony commented.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have eyes on the stone?” Carol asked, waiting downstairs for the past Avengers to show up. Sure she was here to help, but the big reason she came is because she wanted to see if being near the stone would return her powers. Once she had her powers back, she was gonna make sure nothing like this ever happened again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony peered out from the corner, watching Clint and Natasha pouring drinks as Loki was taken away. “Remind me, birdbrain is going to make us drinks after we win.” Tony mused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think we can all use a drink.” Carol said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You and Valkyrie are always drinking.” Bucky scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s been a shitty last five years-” Carol suddenly stopped talking as she saw past Tony, Thor, and Loki making their way down with the tesseract, “Well hello gorgeous, it has been some time.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good, everything was going according to plan so far. That left Natasha and Bucky waiting for the elevator to open with the HYDRA soldiers. At first Natasha wanted to go stealthy, but remembering what Bucky had endured because of HYDRA, knocking them out wouldn’t be too bad. It didn’t take long, the two taking them down in less than a minute. “I call the scepter.” Natasha leaned down, picking up the case, “Now let’s keep moving.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The remaining three were waiting downstairs, Tony in disguise of a soldier while Carol was dressed as a businesswoman. “Ready, pixie cut?” Tony asked from his spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hate you all.” Carol remarked. The blonde groaned as she messed with her shirt a bit and fluffed out her hair. “Here goes Danvers.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Past Tony and Thor made their way through the Stark tower, stopping when Carol suddenly approached them. The blonde went off on past Tony, doing her best drunk impressions she went off on Tony. This made Tony smirk, whispering for Ant Man to have the go ahead. It’s not like it’d kill him, just a slight cardiac arrest. Nothing to worry about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things were starting to get heated and they got worried that this would be it, but thankfully the past Tony dropped. Scott hopped off of the unconscious man, kicking the case away. This didn’t go unnoticed though, Loki watching confused as the case slid away. Dusting herself off, Carol made her way off, picking the case up. “Alright, let’s go before I throw these heels at you.” Carol bitterly remarked, she hated this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sly grin grew on Tony’s face, taking the case, “Come on, Lang. We got the-”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two yelled as the door was flung open, Hulk stomping out of the stairway. The case slid across the ground, cracking open allowing the Tesseract to slide out. Wasting no time, the past Loki picked the tesseract up, vanishing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that is very very bad.” Tony groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good going.” Carol scowled, kicking her heels off as she stood up, “Now what?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Armed with the scepter, Bucky and Natasha made their way through the tower. “We’re almost done, what’s happening on your end?” Natasha asked, only to get silence, “Hello? Tony? Danvers? Lang?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She kept moving forward until she ran into Bucky. “Ow, what-?” Natasha looked forward , seeing what Bucky was seeing and grimaced, “Oh no.”. Standing down the hallway was 2012 Captain America. Her breath was caught in her throat, staring at him. Even if this wasn’t… their Cap, she couldn’t help but take it in. He was standing there. While she hadn’t been there when Steve dusted away, she felt the pain finding him gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Captain America stared at them, “I found Loki and the scepter.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. For Those Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She’d feel bad about this, but they had a job to do. As Natasha took a step forward, Bucky stopped her, holding out his arm. “I’m going to handle him, you get the scepter back to the others.” Bucky said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha flashed him a concerned look but stepped back, this was something he had to do. “Just make it quick.” Natasha stated, checking their surroundings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky stepped over, looking at the man before him. “Steve, I don’t want to fight you.” Bucky held his hands up as he approached the past version of his friend, he didn’t want to have to use this shield on him, “I know this looks bad but we’re not here to hurt you or anyone else.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nice try Loki, but your tricks won’t work on me.” Steve took off his own shield.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shit. Looks like they’d have to do this the hard way. Looking at his friend, Bucky slid the mask off of his mouth. Despite the many many years that had passed for both of them and the aging Bucky had gone through, Steve recognized that face. “It’s me. James Barnes, Bucky. Your mother’s name was Saran and you loved-”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Bucky could finish his sentence, Natasha gave him a sympathetic look. “Sorry, but we have a job to do. You can talk to him when we get them back.” Natasha explained, holding the staff as she walked past him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha walked off, allowing Bucky to stay where he was for a few moments. Looking at Steve, he let out a sigh. “Hold on, Rogers. We’re gonna make this right, I promise.” Bucky walked up to his best friend, getting ready to set the locket down but he hesitated. His hand shook a moment, slipping the locket back in his pocket as he squeezed Steve’s hand. “I’m going to bring you and everyone else back.” Bucky whispered, looking at Steve then over his uniform.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That is America’s ass.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We got the mind stone. Tony, Bruce, how are you guys doing? Bruce?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others were struggling to recover their stones, Loki vanishing with the tesseract while Bruce was struggling to convince the Ancient One to give him the time stone. The only thing that caught her attention was when he brought up Doctor Strange. It was the Sorcerer Supreme’s strict duty to protect reality and time yet he had willingly given the stone away to Thanos? For what purpose?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pondering this for a moment, the Ancient One turned her attention to the scientist once again. Perhaps Doctor Strange had seen something no one else had towards the future. Perhaps a victory?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” Using her powers, she allowed Bruce’s spirit back into the Hulk’s body, waiting for him to stand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A groan left Bruce as he stood up, looking down as the Ancient One unlocked the relic, allowing the time stone out. “This is our chance… Save us, Dr. Banner.” The Ancient One said, allowing him to take the stone from her. “We’ll return everything where it belongs, we’ll stop Thanos.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiding behind a pillar, Valkyrie peered over the corner, seeing the queen. It was really her, after all these years. “My queen…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even without Valkyrie’s help, the remaining two moved forward. “Sleep.” Mantis softly whispered as Jane saw them. A gasp left the woman, dropping to the ground unconscious. Mantis caught her, laying her down on the bed while Rocket took out the device. “Please hurry, there are many eyes around.” Mantis explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking a deep breath, Valkyrie made her way over to the queen. Frigga turned instantly, spotting the young maidan. “Bruunhilde? Why it’s been years.” Frigga walked over, looking at the young woman. There was a gentle smile on her face, touching a piece of her brown hair, “The years have not been kind to you Valkyrie.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> The words lodged in Valkyrie’s throat, staring at the queen, “You know?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Darling, I was raised by witches. Now, did my boy put you up to this?” Frigga questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No… Thor is… We may have lost the first battle, but I refuse to lose this war. I promise, I will not fail you again. We will bring everyone back.” Valkyrie explained, kneeling before her queen, bowing her head as she laid her sword down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you won’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thanos was going to pay, he’d taste her blade for what he did to their people.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The warrior looked up hearing a voice call for her, seeing the two waiting in the hallway. Valkyrie nodded, standing up, watching her queen leave… this was the day she’d die and there was nothing she could do about it. Swallowing the grief down, Valkyrie hurried over to the other two. That was one, she prayed the others had the rest of the stones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wait for Quill was a strange one and it only got stranger when he arrived, singing very poorly to something on his headphones. “Is this guy for real? He’s literally just an adult Cooper.” Lila scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got this.” Sam sent off his small drone, smacking Quill in the back of the head to knock him out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was that really necessary?” Lila asked, adjusting the bow on her back as she followed Sam over to the unconscious man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nebula began looting through Star-lord’s bag, pulling out the lockpick. “A thief’s tool, just what we need.” Nebula stood up, looking towards the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With several swift motions, the door unlocking, the other two gasping at the sight of the stone. “That’s the power stone? That little weird containment orb floating behind the dangerous fire wall?” Sam asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are we sure there aren’t any traps?” Lila questioned, getting a few arrows loaded just in case. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nebula ignored their concern, making her way over to the firewall. Without a shred of emotion or pain, she stuck her metal arm through the firewall, taking the orb. Lila could only stare in disbelief at the melted cybernetic arm. As she looked at Nebula, she couldn’t even begin to imagine all she had gone through in the last… who knows how long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the orb in hand, Nebula walked over, eventually dropping it into Sam’s hand. “Alright, that’s the power stone, let’s hope the other’s got theirs.” Sam remarked, putting the stone away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Lila asked, looking at Nebula.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just leave.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila frowned a bit but nodded, the three of them activating their watches, allowing the white suits to cover them. “Can’t wait to show Pietro the doom orb.” Lila said, vanishing along with Sam. Nebula was about to join them when her body suddenly froze up, a pained gasp leaving her as the side of her head began to spark. With a cry, Nebula dropped to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gamora watched Nebula’s memories with her father, unsure of how any of this could be happening. Another Nebula, nine years in the future and trying to recover the stones? She couldn’t believe it. “Bring this Nebula to me, she knows where the remaining stones are.” Thanos ordered, making a wave of unease crash over Gamora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Resting the staff over her shoulder, Natasha made her way down the street, stopping at what she saw. Scott and Tony sat in a destroyed car, both looking like kicked puppies while Carol leaned against the car pissed. “What happened?” Natasha demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… Sorry, Nat, we got a problem.” Tony grimaced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t suppose either of you have a plan B?” Carol questioned, groaning as Bucky and Natasha shook their heads in response, “And now we failed out second chance. That’s it, we don’t have anymore Pym particles to go back to since that asshole Loki ran off with the tesseract.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, we can’t give up. Not when we’re so close to bringing everyone and Steve back.” Bucky stated, “I’m not going to let him die for everyone else again, it’s not fair to him.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon hearing this an idea formed in Tony’s head, climbing out of the car to approach Bucky. “Okay, hear me out, I got an idea on where we can Pym particles and the tesseract.” Tony explained, starting to input the numbers into the device. Thankfully Bucky caught on quick, listening for the numbers that Tony put in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me come with.” Carol walked over, holding up her device, “I have some knowledge of old military jargon and ways to trip up the system.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great, getting help from both relics.” Tony groaned, watching the white suit cover them, “Alright, Natasha, you and Scott take the mind stone back. We’ll meet you guys back at the compound.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before she could stop him, the three vanished in a blink of an eye, “Stark., you son of a bitch.”. She scowled, shaking her head before turning to Scott, “Fine, you heard him, let’s get this back.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>APRIL 7TH, 1970</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Insane to believe how much time has passed.” Bucky muttered, looking around the base. They had to be here but it still hurt, everything about this place reminded him of Steve. It made his heart clench. He just wanted Steve to be there and tell him that despite everything that happened between them he... he-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re with me, come on.” Carol pulled him towards the elevator, setting it to the floor that Hank Pym would be on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking at the blonde woman beside him, Bucky adjusted his gloves a bit to ensure that no one passing them would see his vibranium arm. “You know I’m surprised that you didn’t go after the tesseract with Tony. It’s obvious that you came along just so you could try to get your powers back.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a momentary silence between the two, Carol huffing. “Yeah, you’re right. At first I only came to help you guys so I could get my powers, but it’s not just that anymore.” Carol groaned, struggling to come up with the next words to say, “I’m… I’m sorry for how I’ve acted since the beginning. I had no idea what you were all dealing with even before the snap. I thought because of my powers I was just this… amazing Captain Marvel who had no set backs. Losing my powers made me remember that I’m human, mostly human, like most of the people searching for the stones today. With everyone I had lost, I forgot what it meant to be a hero. A captain. I intend to prove that I deserve that title and make sure that Thanos knows it when we take everyone back.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, he had to admit, he did not see an apology coming at all from her. “That’s the most-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t ruin it. Powers don’t make the hero, the hero makes the person.” Carol stated, looking up as the elevator doors slid open, “Let’s not mess it up this time.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right, show time. They couldn’t risk this going wrong again. While Bucky got in position, Carol made an interesting phone call to Hank Pym. “Dr. Pym, your newest package has arrived. There’s been an issue though, I got a call that some of the delivery men are feeling very unwell. Reportedly feeling ill once the package was opened.” Carol explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And just like that, the scientist was running down the hall like a madman. Perfect. Bucky hurried in the lab, stealing a handful of Pym particles. It’s not like Pym would miss these, he could make them easily at this time. “Ready? Let’s go.” Carol waved him out of the lab, the two hurrying out just as some soldiers came to investigate the strange behavior.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Keep moving, keep moving.” Carol whispered, the two hurrying into the elevator to make it upstairs, “Don’t mess with SHIELD, they will not leave you alone.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, no shit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the tesseract and the Pym particles, the three regrouped outside. “Can we leave before we have to do this a third time?” Bucky asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Tony looked back for a moment, seeing his father speaking to Jarvis, “Let’s get out of here.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things weren’t going to get any easier for the group though, not if Thanos had anything to say about it. The current Nebula was being held captive by her past self and past Gamora, the two seeking answers for their father. Nebula has pleaded with her sister but they fell upon deaf ears, her past self enjoying the torture of her future self. There was one more thing she needed to do though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Removing a knife from her pants, Nebula knelt down before her future self. Gamora felt her breath hitch, nearly stopping Nebula when her sister popped the head plate off of future Nebula’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Past Nebula slipped the plating on, looking identical to her future self. Things had just gotten much more difficult for the Avengers and much easier for Thanos.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. No One's Immortal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>VORMIR 2014</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint and Pietro landed the ship, the two of them stepping out into the sand. “Didn’t see this coming, now did you?” Pietro asked, looking at the large mountain that waited for them, “So the stone is up there?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess so, now let’s-” Before Clint could finish his sentence, Pietro was already running ahead, “Goddamnit, wait!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Keep up, old man!” Pietro called out from afar, making his way up the mountain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took sometime for the two of them to reach the top of the mountain, Clint panting as he rested his hands on his knees. “Nothing prepares you for this.” Clint groaned, taking a moment to catch his breath before standing. Despite being a spy and assassin for whoever knows how long, Clint had spent a lot of the last five years keeping the team together and sane after the snap, along with keeping Lila safe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Time to find the stone, Mantis and Nebula explained that it was somewhere here, so where was-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A noise was heard behind them, the two turning around with their weapons drawn. A ghostly figure appeared before them, their ethereal voice speaking, “Pietro. Son of Oleg. Clint. Son of Edith.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing this made the two pause, Pietro trembling lightly upon hearing this. He had not heard his father’s name in many many years… how… how did he know? Seeing the distress Pietro was in, Clint stepped in front of him, arrows aimed at the figure. “We need the soul stone, tell us where it is now.” Clint demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The anger returned to Pietro, looking at Red Skull, “Where is it, Red man?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A solemn look crossed the man’s face, looking at the two, “If only it were that easy.”. With that he led the two forward, stopping at the ledge of the mountain, “The stone you seek is down there.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peering over the edge, Pietro tried to find any sign of the soul stone. “Where is it? Is it hidden somewhere below?” Pietro asked, looking back at the ghostly man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For one of you. For the other… In order to take the stone requires an everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul. To sacrifice what you love most for it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing this, the two looked at each other in disbelief. Pietro held his head, muttering something in Sokovian as he made his way to a rock, dropping down on it. Putting his bow back on his back, Clint made his way over. “Hey, come on, don’t be like that. For all we know he could be lying about these terms.” Clint stated, looking back to where Red Skull remained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro shook his head furiously, tears running down his cheeks as he sucked in a labored breath. “No… He… he knew my father, Clint. I had nearly forgotten his name, I had forgotten what he and my mother sounded like. Think about it, Thanos came here with his daughter and returned without it, yet he had the stone. The red man is not lying!” Pietro exclaimed, running his hands through his hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Learning of how Thanos sacrificed his daughter made Clint’s stomach knot. How could a parent, biological or adopted, sacrifice their child for their plans? It was horrific.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Setting a hand on Pietro’s shoulder, Clint looked towards the ledge. “If we don’t get that stone, billions will stay dead. Laura, Cooper, Nate, Wanda.” Hearing his twin's name twisted Pietro’s heart, leaving him aching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “We… we need to…” Pietro stopped as he looked up to Hawkeye, seeing him running to the ledge. “</span>
  <b>NO</b>
  <span>!!!” Pietro sped forward, knocking Clint off of his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you can’t! You can’t-!” Pietro yelped as Clint blasted the ground beside him, knocking him off of his feet. His head hit the ground, making him gasp in pain. The inhuman looked up, seeing Clint taking off his bow, making a run for the ledge. “Clint!” Pietro struggled to his feet despite his pain. A guttural scream left him as Clint jumped, forcing himself forward, catching him at the ledge. His arm was on fire from the catch, feeling as if it had nearly been pulled from his socket but he held on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?! Let me jump!” Pietro screamed, struggling to pull him up from the ledge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got no choice, kid. I promised I’d bring them back no matter what!” Clint shouted back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro ignored him, yelling as he struggled to pull him up. “Pietro, Pietro, look at me! I don’t care what you did! You’re my son!” Hearing those words made Pietro freeze up, staring down at the man, “Wanda will need you when she gets back! They’ll need you. Take care of our family. Take care of your sisters.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Giving him one last smile, Clint kicked himself off the edge, freeing his hand from Pietro’s hand. A scream left Pietro, reaching out, watching as he fell. He felt his entire body freeze, staring at the still archer on the bottom of the mountain, blood spreading from his body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then Pietro awoke in the water, gasping as he sat up. The inhuman looked around frantically, screaming helplessly for his father, only stopping when he felt something in his hands. A small metal key and the soul stone rested in his palm, his hands trembling violently at the realization. Tears rolled down his cheeks, screaming aloud as he slammed his fists into the water. He held the two items to his chest screaming, falling to his side in the water unable to control his grief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a flash, everyone had returned to the compound, all of them standing on the portal. A collective gasp flooded through the room, everyone looking at each other relieved. “Did we get them all?” Tony asked, looking amongst the group, relieved as he saw a handful of shiny stones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mantis wanted to smile, but a strong and… familiar pain was felt, making her look at Pietro, a sinking feeling in her gut.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be damned, we actually did it.” Carol smirked, seeing genuinely proud of the team.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The victory was short-lived as Pietro dropped to the ground, curling up in a fetal position and rocking. Everyone noticed immediately, Natasha’s eyes widening, “Pietro, where is Clint?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila’s breath caught in her throat, seeing the familiar bow beside Pietro. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, no no no NO NO NO. This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t happening, he promised! Hecouldn’tbedead. Where was her dad..?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A frail whimper left Pietro, his trembling hand showing the stone in his palm as he cried, hitting his fist on the ground of the portal. “I don’t get it, where’s birdbrain?” Tony questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The stones… they… the soul stone requires a sacrifice. A loved one in order to possess the stone. Clint Barton is no longer with us.” Mantis whispered, the anguish flooding the group hurting her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The news hit everyone differently, some of them had been his friends since the beginning, others hardly knowing him, and others directly being his family. The news clearly hit Natasha hard, the woman usually was successful with keeping her emotions in check but to discover that he closest friend… someone she considered family, was gone.. Beside her Lila dropped down to her knees sobbing, her body shaking as she sobbed hysterically. To her surprise, Pietro was over in a flash, curling up beside her as he sobbed with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing that Clint was gone hit them all, Tony shook his lightly. It was so hard to believe after everything, all the times they should have died… that one of them was gone now. The original six, down to five. Hell, three with Steve and Thor dusted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol ran a hand through her hair, feeling the pain they had all been going through. It surprisingly affected her, seeing the grief that Lila was enduring. It… reminded her a lot of when Maria lost Monica to the snap. Her fist curled around the suitcase that held the tesseract, they’d bring them back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sam and Scott both gave each other a look, feeling the loss but they decided not to show it. While they had fought alongside him in Germany, they knew better than to show their grieving when others who had known him far longer were here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the one that seemed to be struggling the most with this news, Bruce shaking his head as he began muttering to himself. “No, this isn’t right. It’s not supposed to go like this.” He muttered, holding his head as he paced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you okay, big guy?” Scott walked over to Bruce, looking worried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Bruce roared out, smacking Ant-Man back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone jumped seeing Ant-Man flying back, crashing into the wall cracking it, turning to Hulk realizing what was happening. “Pietro, get Lila out of here!” Natasha demanded. Hearing this startled the man, but he hastily lifted his adopted sister up, running off with her before they could be caught in the crossfire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bruce, buddy come on! I’m gonna need you to stay calm!” Tony exclaimed, trying to keep him from hulking out. With Bruce being… smart hulk for however long he was, Tony almost forgot how terrifying it was when the Hulk lost control. “We really really don’t want to fight you!” Tony shouted, he really did not want to get pummeled again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha looked at Bruce, her heart aching seeing how the Hulk regained control, forgetting they were his allies. The grief… he could feel it too. He was hurting just as much as they were, he didn’t want to hurt any of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the others got ready to fight if needed, Natasha slowly approached, holding her hands up as she slowly walked. Despite the pain of losing Clint, Natasha kept up a gentle face, walking up to Hulk. “Hey, it’s been a long time.” Hulk growled at her, making her stop a second before continuing forward, “I missed you, too. Look, I know you’re hurting but you have to calm down. You’re scaring out friends and I know you don’t want to do that.”. Stopping in front of Hulk, Natasha gently held out her hand, “You have to calm down, let Bruce come back. Please, I need both of you, we all do. I need you both… I promise, when this is all over you and I can vanish, live our lives where no one will find us.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone held their breath as they watched the two, worried this would backfire. Staring at the woman’s hand, Hulk hesitated before reaching his much larger one out, allowing Natasha to hold his hand. A collective sigh filled the room, seeing Bruce start to regain control.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Coming back to his senses, Bruce looked around, his heart sinking realizing what he had done. “I’m sorry.” Bruce gasped, holding his head as he sat down on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not judging him for a moment, Natasha sat down beside him, taking his hand in hers. “It’s okay, I’m here.” She rested her head against his arm, sighing softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all took a moment to breath and decided they would honor him with a small gathering. It felt wrong not to bury him, but they had this at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone had gathered on the small pier, looking out at the lake. Lila sat on the edge of the pier, holding the key that Pietro had given to her in her hands, her father’s bow feeling like concrete on her back. Natasha had her knuckles in her mouth, biting at them to prevent her from just breaking down into sobs. This wasn’t right, it wasn’t right that he was here and she wasn’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sam, Scott, and Bucky all stood back, not wanting to disturb the funeral, it felt wrong. Bucky looked at the group, unable to find any words to speak. It felt… wrong. The entire point of this endeavor was to bring everyone back, not lose more of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t there any way we could just reverse it?” Tony asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony.” Natasha said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go back one more time, stop him from going to Vormir.” Tony added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony.” Natasha was getting irritated, Bruce putting a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just stop him from-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“TONY!” Natasha snapped, making the man jump honestly. “Clint… he isn’t coming back. You and I know that, no matter how much we want him back… Clint is gone. He wouldn’t want us to wallow or try to undo his sacrifice, Clint would want us to remember who he was and what he did. And then Clint would want us to make sure that Thanos gets what’s coming to him, bring everyone back.”. And with that she turned away, walking off the pier and made her way to the compound. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, one by one, everyone followed her until Pietro and Lila remained. Knowing that Pietro had hardly said anything since they returned, she looked at him tearfully. “I don’t blame you…” The girl confessed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t fast enough to stop him.” Pietro’s voice wavered, dropping his head in his hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pietro… This was dad’s choice… I… I hate that he broke his promise… But he told us to take care of each other. There is no way I’m gonna mess up his final wishes… and I know you won’t either.” Lila held his hand, thinking for a moment as she looked at the key in her hand, “I know where this goes… come on.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking her brother's hand, Lila got up, heading to the room where they had all previously suited up. Searching around, she found it at last, her father’s chest. “Here..” Lila knelt down, motioning Pietro to do the same. The man hesitated before dropping down beside her, watching Lila unlock the chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Opening the chest, the two gasped. Within the chest were dozens of photos, a few personal souvenirs, and something at the bottom wrapped up carefully. Pietro was the first to move, picking up the picture that caught his eye. It was a picture of baby Nathaniel, not long after he had been born, being held by Pietro himself. This was a few weeks after he had been shot by Ultron, healing up thankfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A watery smile grew on Pietro’s face, taking another one which made Lila chuckle softly. “Look at this one…” She smiled. In this one it was winter, the three Barton sibling fighting against the two inhuman twins in a snowball fight, “We were so cold, mom was so mad but then couldn’t stop laughing when Wanda sent a tidal wave of snow at us.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wanda never took anything lightly, especially snowball fights.” Pietro smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two siblings continued to search through the photos, the last one they held being a large family photo with all of them in it. It had been taken just before Wanda and Pietro left to fight Thanos. Despite being on the run, Wanda and Vision had visited often, promising to see them. Lila stood in the front beside Wanda, hugging her big sister tightly. Pietro was ruffling Cooper’s hair aggressively, Nate riding his back excited. Clint and Laura stood in the back, holding each other close as they smiled towards the camera. She remembered that Vision took it for them too…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mom and dad had this insane love for each other… it’s what dad needed after everything he saw at work. To come home to a wife who almost never judged him or antagonized him for his job and then five kids that would welcome him home.” Lila’s voice wavered, smiling down at the photo as tears rolled down her cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro gave a small nod, still getting used to being officially a part of the family. “He was a great man.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wiping away her tears, Lila pulled out the last item of the box. It was wrapped up securely, not wanting to be disturbed by anything else. Being careful, Lila unwrapped the item, a soft gasp leaving her. In her hands was a brand new suit, made of almost the exact same material as her father’s. Baring black, different shades of purple and gray, along with gold accents. “Oh dad… you did get me one.” Lila whispered, sniffling as she hugged the suit close, leaning against Pietro as she cried.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Bring Them Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everyone had returned to the compound, Rocket, Bruce, and Tony all working to create the new gauntlet. Natasha watched Bruce intensively, making sure he remained in control. The spy could make out the sound of footsteps behind her, turning around to see Lila, her mouth parting slightly upon seeing the girl baring her new suit. There were many similar features to her father’s suit, the color palette, specialized gloves for archery, and the familiar bow on her back. “You look amazing in that.” Natasha smiled softly, walking up to her niece, placing a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks… If I had known… that dad already had my suit ready, I wouldn’t have kept hassling him about it. I just wish I knew why he never told me, he kept telling me I wasn’t ready to be an Avenger.” Lila remarked, staring at the ground mournfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s because he wasn’t ready for you to become an Avenger. Clint knew all the dangers this job had and still fought it because it was his job to save people. He wasn’t scared of a lot except for his family's safety. For you specifically. It wasn’t hard to realize you were becoming just like him and it scared him… You know, when it first happened he’d have you asleep on his lap while he just blamed himself for not being able to protect your family from Thanos. He thought retiring would protect you but the snap couldn’t have been stopped like that.” Natasha explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The words struck Lila hard, running a hand over the vambrace of her suit. “That makes sense… no one ever said this job was easy. You sacrifice so much to save us and get so little out of it.” Lila softly said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think your father would’ve gone insane if he didn’t have you with him. He’d rather die than live in a world without his family.” Natasha said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tears rolled down the girl's cheeks, sniffling as she nodded, “I know… That’s why this has to work.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha nodded, taking a deep breath as she watched the three finish the gauntlet. “We won’t lose, we’re going to bring everyone back.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the new gauntlet done, everyone had gathered in the lab, staring at it. “This is really happening, holy shit. After five years we’re gonna win.” Sam explained, grinning at the beautiful masterpiece before them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Calm down there birdy, we still need to have someone snap it.” Carol stated, folding her arms over her chest, “If I had my powers still I could handle it, but I don’t think any of us can handle this thing with all of the stones in it.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanos used it twice and it nearly killed him. How do we expect to survive it?” Pietro questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do it.” Bucky said, walking up to the gauntlet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A large hand was put in front of him, Bruce approaching the new infinity gauntlet, “No. I’ll do it.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha’s eyes widened hearing this, turning to him, “Bruce, you can’t be serious.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am. I’m the only one that has a chance of surviving this. The gamma radiation can withstand the stones, I was made for this.” Bruce stated. A concerned look passed over Natasha’s face, walking up to him, taking his hand as she stood on her toes, pressing a kiss against his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t die.” Was all she said, before stepping back to join the rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Time for the moment of truth.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony demanded for a lockdown of the base, pulling up a shield. Who knew how this was going to go, they had to be careful if this went wrong. Holding up his shield, Lila and Pietro stood behind Tony, watching. Nat, Carol, and Valkyrie stood behind Sam, who raised his wings as a shield to protect the four of them. Still armed with Steve’s shield, Bucky held it up, covering himself, Mantis, and the Racoon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sliding the gauntlet on, Bruce gasped in pain as the gauntlet began searing the flesh of his arm, colored lines trailing up his body. “Take it off, take it off, Bruce!” Natasha exclaimed, looking at the damage it was doing to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! We have to finish this. Bruce, buddy, how are you doing?” Tony asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bruce gave a weak response, holding his arm up despite the pain, and with a yell he snapped. The force of the blast knocked everyone to the ground, Natasha being the first up to run to Bruce’s side. “Bruce, Bruce! Look at me, tell me you’re alive!” Natasha exclaimed, sitting above him, her eyes wide with worry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro kicked the gauntlet away, kneeling down beside Bruce. “He does not look good.” He muttered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Making her way around Bucky, Mantis ran over to Bruce, pressing her hands on her temples gasping, “He is alive. And… I sense something has changed.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as the empath had said that, Lila looked up hearing a phone ringing. Turning to the table, she saw her phone resting on the table. She had left it here when they arrived at Morag, not wanting to mess it up on the trip. Walking over to the table, the girl gasped seeing her mother’s name on the screen. Picking up the phone, Lila answered the call, begging that this was real.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lila?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, mom..? It worked, you’re here.” Lila gasped, hastily waving over Pietro who sped over in a flash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lila? You sound so different. W-Where are you and your father? I can’t get in contact with him.” The pain of thinking about her dad was unbearable, but Lila smiled nonetheless upon hearing her mother’s voice. It worked, it really worked. She allowed Pietro to take the phone, smiling at his reaction to hearing their mother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A smile formed on Carol’s face, standing by as the two talked to their mother. She’d have to call in as soon as possible to find out about Monica, but first she’d let everyone have their moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scott made his way to the window, staring at the bright sun beaming down, listening to the chirping birds. “I think it worked.” He smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Weak smile formed on Bruce’s face, looking up at Natasha. The redhead gave him a gentle smile, stroking his hair. Bruce wanted to say something until he noticed the sky over them turning dark, realizing it was a massive ship. No one had the chance to breath or utter a single word, the ship unleashed a barrage of missiles, tearing apart the compound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sam let out a yell as he fell through the ground, landing deep within the base. Many others were scattered throughout the shattered compound, Bruce grunting as he used his body to shield Natasha and Mantis from any falling debris.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro groaned as he came too, looking up as he could hear yelling. “Lila..? Lila?’ The speedster looked towards the yelling, gasping seeing his sister, “Lila!”. Forcing himself off of the ground, he gaped seeing water flooding the collapsed room. “Shit, Lila!” He rushed to his sister, horrified seeing Lila trapped underneath fallen debris. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-Help..! I’m stuck!” Lila exclaimed, her leg pinned down, crying out as the water was starting to rise. No matter how she moved she was stuck, completely trapped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wading through the water, Pietro got to his sister’s side. “Hold on, I got you!” Pietro exclaimed, straining as he tried lifting the debris, “Damnit, move..!”. Speed was his strongest skill, strength not so much. The inhuman strained, trying to move the rubble but had no success.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Using his wings, Sam pushed some of the debris off of him, coughing as he stood. “Hello? Anyone?” Sam called out, looking for any sign of the others. Seeing no one, Sam moved forward, spotting something on the ground. “How the hell did you get down here?” Sam asked, picking the gauntlet up. His thoughts were interrupted though hearing growling in the distance, shit, time to move.Tucking the gauntlet under his arm, Sam flew off down the hall trying to get away from the incoming soldiers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pietro, I can’t move!” Lila screamed, trying to free her leg but was unable to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing yelling in the distance, Carol ran over, shocked by what she saw. “Here, let me help! Let me help!” Carol shouted, going over to try and help Pietro lift the rubble up. The rubble shifted lightly, the two struggling to free her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As everyone struggled to gather their barings, Thanos landed down, staring at the destroyed base. Things had just gotten much more difficult.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, anyone out there?” Scott called out, searching through the broken base.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Over here, Lang!” Natasha called out, kneeling down beside Bruce along with Mantis.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A relieved sigh left him as he saw some of them alive, running over to them. “I was worried, that blast was insane.” Scott said, kneeling down beside them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking around, Natasha realized she had no idea where Tony or Bucky were. “You two stay with him, I need to find the others.” Natasha explained, looking at Bruce, “Don’t die while I’m gone.”. She gave his uninjured hand a squeeze before getting up, running out to search for the two of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky groaned as he freed himself, surprised as a hand was held out before him. “Time to get up.” Tony grunted, helping him stand. “Come on, we gotta find…” Tony stopped mid sentence, looking to see Valkyrie standing still just outside the base, staring forward, “Hey, pegasus. What are you doing?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two walked forward, seeing what she was staring at, Thanos sitting in the battlefield waiting for them. “There’s the bastard that killed our king and half of my people.” Valkyrie scowled, taking out her sword.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s here for the stones, we have to keep it away from him no matter what and return them just like Bruce said.” Bucky stated, holding up his shield. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then that’s what we’ll do. He’s not snapping again.” Valkyrie hissed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha ran out, stopping beside the three, a grim look on her face as she looked at Thanos in the distance. “Valkyrie, go. Find Carol and the others. We’ll keep him back.” Natasha explained, pulling out her batons. The warrior wasn’t entirely thrilled by this but nodded, running off to find the rest. Turning to the other two, Natasha gave them a small smirk, “If we die, I’ll buy the shawarma.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You read my mind. But we’re not dying.” Tony responded, the three heading down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thanos looked up from his spot, seeing the three approaching him. A disdainful look formed on the Titan’s face, weaving his fingers together as he went on about how now he had to erase everything, create a new universe. Why did all villains give a long dramatic speech? It wasn’t appealing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You talk too much.” Bucky commented, throwing the shield at him, allowing the other two to charge ahead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The water had risen to their knees now, Lila struggling to keep her head above the water. Carol and Pietro worked together, managing to get it off of her enough to allow Pietro to pull her out. Above them the ceiling cracked, Carol gasping as she saw. “MOVE!” Letting of to rubble, Carol pushed the two away just as the ceiling caved in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Carol!” Lila exclaimed, leaning against Pietro.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol’s body was pinned completely, there was no way they could get her out in time. “Go! Just go, get out of here!” Carol demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” Lila shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just get out of here, don’t die here too!” Carol shouted, the water rising to her chest, “GO!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro gave a nod, taking his sisters hand, allowing her to hold onto him as they swam out. “Tell Bruunhilde I love her!” Carol shouted, watching them vanish. She watched them vanish, her breath hitching as she attempted to push the rubble off of herself but she wasn’t strong enough. A scream left her as she kept trying, the water reaching her shoulder. Gasping, Carol looked around, her mind wandering before stopping as she thought about Monica and Maria.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’ll be back before you know it.” “Maybe I can fly up and meet you halfway.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A smile grew on Carol’s face… they did it Maria, Monica and everyone else would be back. She let out a gasp as the water reached her chin, taking in a deep breath as the water rose, reaching her mouth before covering her head. Her eyes stung as she kept them open, thinking about everyone else she had gotten to know, thinking about her Bruunhilde. Her mind wandered as her lungs burned, thinking about Fury, the Skrull, everyone else she had met over the years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon enough the bubbles parted from her mouth, her body jerking as her vision grew spotty. This was it… Slowly her eyes closed, her body going limp in the water. As the world around her went quiet, Carol’s eyes shot open, glowing brightly as her fists did. Looking around startled, she stared down at her fist in awe. Holy shit, they were back. Bracing both hands against the rubble, Carol pushed with her refound strength, freeing herself from the trap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Captain Marvel was back and it was time to show everyone who she really was.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, shit!” Sam exclaimed, flying away from the incoming horde, “Damnit, how many of these things are there?”. He fired at those coming after him but primarily focused on trying to get out of there alive. “Where is everybody?!” Sam shouted over the comms, getting no responses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Falcon flew through the broken tunnels, stopping as he finally saw a familiar face. “About time, I’ve been waiting for someone.” He panted, “We gotta get this thing away from Thanos.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wrong.” Nebula held up her sword, staring the man in the eye, “I’ll be taking that to my father.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, come the fuck on.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Natasha!” Tony shouted watching his friend get flung back, “Don’t you know that it’s rude to hit ladies?!”. It felt like no matter how hard they tried fighting, their efforts were beaten down by Thanos, sending Tony flying back into the ground near Natasha.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A strained grunt left Bucky, forcing himself to stand as he held Steve’s shield. He wasn’t going to lose, not when they were this close! With a roar, Bucky charged forward sending the shield flying at Thanos. The shield was sent flying back, Bucky barely catching it in time. How the hell did Steve control this thing?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Refusing to back down, Bucky kept fighting his best against the Titan. The shield was made of vibranium, one of the strongest metals, but as Thanos’ sword beat against it the shield was being broken into pieces. His eyes widened seeing the shield breaking, his mouth gaping as the signature shield was half of once it was. Steve’s shield, broken and beaten. It was all he had-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A yelp left him as Thanos struck the man back, sending him flying into the other two. “You know… starting to get sick of the broken ribs feeling...” Natasha grunted, trying to sit up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A flash of blue charged forward, punching Thanos in the leg. “What is this?” The Titan growled out. He yelled as explosive arrows were shot at his back, turning to see Lila holding her father’s bow, Pietro dashing beside her. “This is from the Barton’s!” Lila yelled, firing more arrows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scowling, Thanos looked towards the sky. A gasp left Natasha, watching as a massive ship flew down, followed by the endless armies of Chitauri, their strange Leviathan ships, along with some of his children. “Oh… this is bad.” Pietro muttered, hastily picking up Lila, running them towards the others to get a safe distance away from the incoming soldiers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, what do we do?” Natasha asked, holding her side as she stared up at the dark sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We never had good odds while fighting these things, now did we?” Tony quipped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky stood in front of the four, looking down at the broken shield. Steve would never give up and he refused to now. “We fight, like always.” Bucky stated, he refused to give up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys don’t plan on killing him without us, now do you?”. They could barely fight a hundred of those ships in New York, now there were at least thousands of them here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The five looked at each other stunned hearing the familiar voice coming from the comm. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cap.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of them turned around, watching as a glowing portal opened up behind them. “On your left.” Cap said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Out of the portal came T’Challa, Okoye, and Shuri. Armed and ready to fight. A smile formed on Lila’s face, gasping, they had actually done it. Natasha could only stare in shock, watching people she thought would be gone forever show.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They weren’t the only ones either. More portals opened up, Rhodes flying out of Wakanda. Strange opened another portal, landing down. Behind him Drax charged forward, baring his knives, while the two Peter’s landed down beside Strange.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yibambe!” T’Challa called out, the Wakandians chanting after him, “Yibambe! Yibambe!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dozens of portals opened, dozens of sorcerers, Wakandan soldiers, everyone they had known over the many years came out. Captain America came out of the portal, standing beside Groot and M’Baku, looking at Bucky as he stood out. Lady Sif charged out of the portal, Korg, Meek, and the remaining Asgardians standing beside her. Her fist glowing red, Wanda landed down, making Pietro and Lila beam. Dozens of sorcerers came out, getting their magic ready. Holding up his hand, Thor twirled his hammer, standing beside Hope who grew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony stared in absolute disbelief as someone dropped down from the sky, wearing a familiar blue iron suit. The mask opened, revealing Pepper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that everyone?” Strange asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What you wanted more?” Wong scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The broken compound rumbled, bursting open as Ant-Man grew, Mantis, Bruce, and Valkyrie in his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Warrior cries filled the air as hundreds of soldiers came out, ready for battle. Thanos stared in disbelief, looking at the neverending barrage of heroes. Steve climbed down, joining Bucky, Natasha, Tony, and Thor, giving them a nod. It was time. Expanding his new shield, Steve looked forward, “Avengers!’. Everyone got in fighting positions, ready to defeat him for good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Assemble.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. ASSEMBLE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>With a mighty battle cry, all the Avengers charged towards Thanos’ army. Valkyrie climbed on her pegasus as it flew down, crying out as she flew forward with her sword. A maniacal laughter erupted from Rocket as he flew on the back of Rhodes, firing at oncoming soldiers. Still in his giant form, Scott charged forward, followed by a barrage of spaceships.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wordlessly, Thanos raised his sword, signaling his own army to charge forward. Thor let out a mighty Asgardian roar, charging forward with Steve, Bucky, Natasha, and M’Baku. The moment the two sides collided it was chaos, everyone battling against someone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Raising his hammer up, Thor smashed it into the ground, sending an electric tidal wave forward. One tried sneaking up behind the god, but Valkyrie flew down, slicing the Chitauri in half. Beside her, Wasp materialized out of thin air, kicking away another. The sky turned dark as one of the ships flew down, Scott reeling his fist back as he punched it out of the sky. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>T’Challa kicked away a Chitauri, giving his general an approving nod as she cut down one of the oncoming aliens, looking as Shuri blasted several away. The king was startled as a blue blur ran past him, barely having time to blink as suddenly dozens of Chitauri around him had been knocked down. Any beasts that dared nearing Pietro were thrown aside in a violent red haze. A laugh filled the air as Drax leapt onto one of the larger soldiers, stabbing it in the back repeatedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like the wonderful married couple they were, Tony and Pepper fought by each other's sides, unleashing countless blue beams onto incoming soldiers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila pulled her arrow back, ready to fire at the neverending army of aliens coming at them. Her breathing froze, eyes widening realizing the situation they were truly in. One of the Chitauri planned to take advantage of her hesitance, being promptly shot down by Natasha. The girl turned around startled, her aunt running up to her. “Lila, I need you to breathe!” Natasha demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I can’t do this, dad was right…!” Lila exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Natasha firmly gripped her niece's shoulder, using her other hand to shoot any soldiers that were charging, “Listen to me, you are not me or your father, okay? You are your own person and I know you!  This is our job, it only matters who you are now. Even if you only have a bow and arrow, you can still do this. Look at me, I am about to tell you something that your father said on Sokovia. If you step out right now, you're an Avenger.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The words hit Lila deeply, her heart ached thinking of her father but she realized her aunt was right. She had to prove that she earned this bow for sure. Looking up at her aunt, Lila nodded, holding her bow firmly once more. “Guess I’m an Avenger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You always were.” Smiling at the girl, Natasha turned back to the incoming horde, firing at them as she ran to join the others. Lila rushed after her, pulling the arrow back, firing off an explosive arrow at a large cluster coming at them. “That’s my girl.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bucky and Steve fought back to back, sending the shield flying around, taking turns hitting enemies with it. Sending the shield back to him, Steve watched how skillfully Bucky used it even if it was only half of the shield. “You’re getting really good at that.” Steve stated, unable to hide the look he was giving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, I think I’ll keep it.” Bucky remarked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not a chance, Barnes.” Steve scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone was getting a taste of the action. Gunfire, arrows, magic, beams, everything was being thrown around during the intense battle. They were fighting their hardest, refusing to let Thanos win again, and once they saw Sam in the sky they knew they needed to keep the infinity gauntlet away from him at all cost. “Sam, you need to get away as far as you can! We can’t allow him to get the sword!” Steve demanded over the comm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got it and man is it great to hear your voice again!” Sam cheered, weaving through the air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately this called attention to the Falcon, Sam yelling as he was blasted out of the sky. “Sam!” Natasha exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing Falcon was struggling, T’Challa landed down, the vibranium feedback sending the enemies flying back. “Sam.” The king stood, looking at his friend, “Give it to me.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sam didn’t have to be told twice, passing the gauntlet off. “Try not to die.” Giving the king a nod, Sam took off to the skies, going to help his comrades.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While everyone else was fighting, Hope and Scott flew into the van, getting it started. They had to get these stones back to where they belong before Thanos got a hold of them. If he did then all of this would be for nothing! “We’re going to need ten minutes!” Hope explained, helping Scott set up the device.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You heard them, ten minutes.” Natasha swung her batons, looking to where the two were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone was doing their best in the fight, poor Star-Lord was getting beaten by a past version of his girlfriend. Could nothing go his way?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keeping the infinity gauntlet tucked in his arm, T’Challa ran through the hordes of soldiers, his suit shielding him from the endless attacks. However, said suit could not protect him from the gaze of Thanos or Maw.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro sped through the hordes of aliens, knocking down any that got too close to him or his sisters. Firing arrow after arrow, Lila turned to where the gauntlet was, gasping as she saw the Titan knocking T’Challa down with his sword. “Pietro, he’s going after the gauntlet!” Lila exclaimed, attempting to slow him down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing this, rage boiled within the inhuman. All he could see was Clint jumping off the cliff, making him promise to protect their family. Damnit, he wasn’t going to fail him!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A trail of blue charged forward, Pietro striking Thanos in the knee. The Titan dropped down, searching for where he went before being struck again. Pietro skidded lightly on the ground, panting as he got ready to charge once more. Seeing the blur, Thanos stood waiting for the perfect moment as the inhuman charged at him once more. Raising his leg, Thanos slammed his foot down, crashing it down on the speedsters leg.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A guttural cry tore through Pietro, stumbling to the ground gasping. “So much potential, wasted.” He sneered, picking Pietro up by the neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Using a rock to give her a boost, Lila jumped on the Titan’s back, screaming as she took out her knife, stabbing him in the neck repeatedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thanos growled, grabbing the girl by the quiver, throwing her and Pietro down to the ground. Lila cried out in pain, gasping as he approached them. She looked around frantically for her bow. Thanos approached the two, his sword raised when a figure dropped down to the ground, the earth beneath her cracking, burning red with chaos magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wanda stood, her eyes burning red. “You took EVERYTHING from me.” Her voice was laced with rage, staring at the Titan without a shred of fear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t even know who you are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “You will.” A gasp left Lila, holding Pietro close as they looked at Wanda. “Thanos is mine.” Wanda hissed out, with a wave of her hand a protective barrier surrounded the two. Her first burned bright red, lifting herself off of the ground along with two giant pieces of debris. Effortlessly she sent the two chunks at him, jumping down to stun him with a shock wave. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation within her, yelling as she sent countless blasts of magic at Thanos.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Knowing Wanda had Thanos, T’Challa ran after the gauntlet, gasping as it was lifted up by Maw’s magic. The king struggled against it, unable to free himself, but thankfully he had help. “I got it!” Peter yelled, webbing the gauntlet as he flew by, landing down effortlessly, “Activate instant kill.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thanos swung his sword down, straining to hit Wanda with it. A dark look formed on the woman’s face, pushing against it and even overpowering the Titan. With his sword cast aside, Wanda lifted the Titan up, Thanos yelled as she began crushing him with her powers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unable to free himself, Thanos shouted aloud, “Rein fire!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bottom of the ship opened up, revealing dozens of turrets, all of which began firing into the battlefield. No one was prepared, everyone being flung around from the blast including Wanda. The sorcerers began casting wards all around, shielding as many allies as they could from the blast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing Peter struggling amongst the crowd, Steve reeled his arm back, sending Mjolnir flying. “Since when could you do that?!” Natasha exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve had a lot of free time in the stones.” Steve panted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing the hammer flying towards him, Peter webbed onto him, cheering as he got to fly on Thor’s hammer, “This is the greatest day of my lifeeeeeeee!!!”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fun was short lived, one of the canon blast cutting the web. Before he could hit the ground, Pepper flew by, catching him, “Hang on, I got you.”. Raising him up, she threw Peter up, watching him land on Valkyrie’s horse. “Hey, nice to meet-OH MY GOD!” Peter screamed as the pegasus flew down suddenly, struggling to avoid the blasts. One got too close to them though, Peter yelling as he was flung off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy crashed down, grunting as he held the gauntlet. Blasts erupted all around, Peter yelling as he curled up, praying it didn’t hit him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blasts were coming from all over, sending everyone flying around the battlefield. Everyone struggled to find cover when it suddenly stopped. They all looked around, watching as the turrets aimed directly at the compound. “What’s going on?” Steve questioned, watching as all turrets fired at the already destroyed compound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FRIDAY, what are they firing at?” Tony asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Massive energy readings coming from the lower levels of the compound sir.” FRIDAY explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Energy readings? What-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony wasn’t prepared for a massive yellow and blue beam to rip through the compound and blast through the ship's wing. Rocketing out of the compound was none other than Carol, her body blazing as she flew through the air, tearing right through the ship. An elated grin formed on Lila’s face, letting out a scream as she watched Carol fly through the sky. Valkyrie could only stare in disbelief, watching Carol land down, blasting through the hordes before landing down in front of Peter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steve ran over to make sure that Peter was okay, looking up as Carol landed down. A smile formed on the woman’s face, looking at the two of them. “Honored to finally meet you Captain America, I’m Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel.” That title felt right and she promised that she had earned that title.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’m Peter Parker.” Peter meekly said from the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled down at him, kneeling down beside him, “Hey, Peter Parker. You got something for me?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding, Peter passed the gauntlet off to her. “Thanks. We’ll handle it from here.” Carol stated, looking at Steve, “Want to show them what us Captain’s can really do?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as I’d love to, you have to get that gauntlet out of here. If Thanos gets his hands on it, it’s all over for us. Hope and Scott should be done, and you’re the fastest out of us all.” Normally he wouldn’t trust a complete stranger with this, but this was far too important.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Staring at the gauntlet in her arms, Carol nodded. “We won’t lose, not again.” Tucking the gauntlet underneath her arm, Carol flew forward in a blast of yellow and blue. As much as she wanted to fly down and tear this army apart, she trusted her team and knew she was their best chance of getting this out of here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got this Carol!” Lila cheered, firing arrows at any that tried coming at her or the twins. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keeping the gauntlet secured in her grasp, Carol flew through the endless armies, allowing everyone to keep the heat off her as she got closer to the van. In the distance she could see Thanos charging at her, blasting him aside as she flew over the Titan. “Lang, you better be ready!” Carol shouted, flying as fast as she could.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thanos saw where she was heading, raising his sword but stopped, adjusting his aim and threw it. Carol’s body lurched forward as the sword tore through her, gasping as she crashed into the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“CAROL!” Valkyrie screamed, watching Carol crash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A gasp left Carol, struggling to push herself up from the ground. The gauntlet rolled away from her, the woman gasping as she tried crawling towards it, her eyes widening seeing Thanos heading for it. As he approached a feral scream filled the air, Valkyrie swinging her blade at Thanos to push him back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With Valkyrie's distraction Tony rushed over to get it away, looking to where the van remained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony, GO!” After Thanos had casted Valkyrie back, Steve and Thor struggled to hold Thanos back. Natasha rushed over, jumping on the Titan’s back, jabbing her shock baton into his neck. Thanos let out an enraged roar, sending the three flying off of him as he charged for the gauntlet. Everyone stared in horror as Thanos slid the gauntlet on his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No… NO! They couldn’t let him get the gauntlet!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the pain flooding her body, Carol flew over, kicking the back of Thanos’ leg. Her moves were sluggish from her wound but she forced herself to fight, grunting as she blasted him in the face, kicking him in the jaw. She put all her strength into the hits, reaching for the gauntlet. Carol’s eyes widened as he grabbed her wrist, yelling as he threw her aside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ENOUGH!” Thanos shouted, raising his hand preparing to snap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Carol flew forward, pulling his hand down to prevent him from snapping. Not again! She promised Maria that she’d bring Monica back! Glaring at the Titan, Carol struggled overpowering him. Flying up, she managed to push Thanos down onto his knees with the force of her power. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carol reeled her fist back, ready to blast him with the strongest blast she could summon. Thanos struggled to push her back when he looked at the infinity gauntlet, seeing the stones. Tearing the power stone out, he reeled his fist back. Carol’s eyes widened, unable to pull away as he punched her back with the reality stone. Her mind went blank as the unstable power of the stone burned through her, overwhelming the power of the tesseract. A silent scream tearing through her as she was sent flying through the air, the world around her fading as she knew the stone was going to kill her. Even with the power of the tesseract back, the sword going through her and the power stone hitting her… she was as good as done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Monica… Bruunhilde.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The captain crashed violently into the ground, her eyes blank as she laid on the ground limp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony stared at her in shock, unable to believe that… that someone else was gone. Looking around, he saw Strange in the battlefield, the man holding up a single finger and the truth dawned on Tony. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was the one.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man charged forward, grabbing the glove trying to pull it off of Thanos. Thanos struck him back with ease, holding up his arm. “I am inevitable.” Thanos said, snapping his fingers. A clink noise filled the air but nothing had happened, the tyrant snapping again but there was nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All eyes turned to Tony, seeing the man on his knees. A pained gasp left Tony as the power of the stones overwhelmed him, all six resting in the nanogaunlet. Sucking in a breath, Tony held up his shaking hand, looking Thanos in the eyes, “I… am Iron Man.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>SNAP!</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A deafening snap filled the air once again, but everyone was relieved as Thanos’ army began fading away. It was over… they really won. The army vanished in masses and soon enough Thanos himself was gone. After five years… it was over at last.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wanda rushed over to her brother and sister, gasping as she clung to them both tightly. “You know, I’m now five years and twelve minutes older than you.” Pietro stated, grunting as Wanda elbowed him in the ribs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A relieved sigh left Steve, looking around in disbelief. They did it, they- Steve was interrupted by Bucky walking over, gripping his shoulders as he planted a firm kiss on his lips. After a moment Bucky pulled away, looking at Steve. “I don’t want to wait another five years to do that.” Bucky said, watching Steve’s reaction, not expecting him to kiss him back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“About time.” Natasha scoffed, smiling as Bruce walked over, “Hey big guy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While many celebrated, attention soon turned to Tony, finding the man still alive. As the team approached Tony, Valkyrie walked over to Carol’s body. The woman muttered an ancient Asgardian prayer, lowering her head as she rested it on her love’s chest, folding Carol’s hands over her chest. Whispering one final goodbye, Valkyrie picked her up, walking away with her love.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony looked around weakly, a tired smile on his face seeing Rhodes kneel down beside him. “Hey… you made it to the party…”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sad smile formed on Rhodes' face, stepping aside as Peter made his way over. The boy hurried over, sniffling as he looked at the dying man. He couldn’t lose him too, not like uncle Ben! It wasn’t fair, he had just gotten back!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder, Pepper walked over, kneeling before her husband. “Hey Pep…” Tony’s voice was frail, looking at his beautiful wife with the same admirement he always had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna be okay… You can rest now.” Pepper softly said. Tony gave a weak breath, looking at her just as his breathing finally stopped. A whimper left Pepper, sobbing as she rested her head on Tony’s chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone looked at the fallen hero and one by one, they all dropped down on one knee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Long live Iron Man</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everyone knew of Thanos’ defeat now, the world celebrating as many of their lost loved ones had finally returned. The Avengers had done it at last, victorious after five long years that had haunted them all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The quinjet landed down on the farm land, Copper and Nate running out the moment they heard it. Laura chased after her boys, running as fast as she could to where her husband and kids were, tears running down the mother’s eyes as she ran over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The back of the quinjet opened, Lila and Wanda walking out with Pietro following behind in crutches. A gasp left Lila, tears running down the girls cheeks as she took off in a sprint towards her mother and brothers. Laura stared in shock, completely in awe at the fact that her once tiny fourteen year old was now a young woman. She wrapped her arms around Lila securely, the two boys joining soon enough and the twins even joined. They had done it, they were back together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nate clung to Wanda’s leg, only letting go when he saw Natasha walking over, a strange look on his aunt’s face. Laura and Cooper quickly noticed the missing family member as well, searching for any sign of Clint. A weak sniffle left Lila, shaking her head as more tears rolled down her cheeks, sobbing as she clung to her mother and brothers. Natasha watched with a frown, struggling to suppress her emotions as she watched the grieving family.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She’d protect them no matter what, she’d make sure of it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Many had struggled to return to some form of normalcy, Peter included as he entered school. It was so strange, seeing how things seemed… like nothing had changed when everything had changed. At least one thing had stayed the same, the sight of his best friend making him smile. Peter and Ned walked over, giving each other a tight hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sky was lit up with fireworks, everyone celebrating the victory. A genuine smile was plastered on Scott’s face as he sat between Hope and Cassie, staring up at the sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor and Valkyrie stood back as the Asgardians cheered over their victory, a faint smile on God of Thunder’s face as he looked at the crowd. He was proud of Valkyrie for how she kept Asgard together while he was gone. For an angry woman who wanted nothing to do with Asgard or his family after everything his father has put her through yet here they were. The man gave her a strong pat on the back, raising his mead mug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valkyrie stared at him before nodding, holding her mug as well, to Carol. The two looked over as Monica made her way over, sitting down beside them, holding out her own mug. After the snap, Bruunhilde had gotten the chance to meet Monica and the Skrull that Carol had saved. Captain Marvel’s legacy would live on with them all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In Wakanda, the people celebrated. T’Challa smiled proudly, standing between his sister and mother. The three of them watched as their people cheered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A frown formed on Natasha’s face as she watched the Barton’s family embrace. With a gentle sigh, she lifted the crate up, walking over to join them. She was going to keep them safe Clint, she promised she’d keep them safe no matter what.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the world cheered on, some took peace in just appreciating the world. Now that the two were back together, Bucky and Steve sat together, enjoying the sunset. Looking at his lover, Steve leaned over, kissing him on the chin. There was a faint smile on Bucky’s face, watching Steve rest his head on his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite many celebrating, the Avengers understood the massive sacrifice that had to be made in order to reach this point. The cost of losing three Avengers. At this point the team had gathered at Tony’s home, every single one of them was there to honor his memory. What started as a small team of ‘freaks’ turned into a massive family that would do anything to protect each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heading down the pier was everyone, Pepper, Morgan, and Happy standing at the front, watching their memorial drift in the water. The trail continued forward, Steve, Rhodes, Peter, and May standing not far behind the three. The group only grew as Thor, Bruce, Natasha, Strange, Wong, Janet, Hope, even Hank stood by. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While they were more distant, the others were there. All of the guardians stood together, behind them was T’Challa and his family and Okoye. Behind the royal family was the Barton’s. They wanted to be there for his family and team, but they were still mourning their own loss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Behind the family was Bucky, Sam, Hill,Valkyrie, Fury, hell, even Thaddeus Ross was there. The man got cold looks from the entire team but the man remained still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Many stuck around after the memorial was placed, but a few had begun scattering. Wanda and Pietro stood by the water, holding onto each other as they stared off. “I wish I could let him know… Know that we are all safe now. That we did win, everyone is back.” Pietro muttered, staring at the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wanda rubbed his back, looking at her twin, “Dad knows… so does Vis.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pietro gave a shaky nod, clinging to his sister tightly. It felt so wrong not to have Clint here, for him not to see his family. But he promised, he promised that he would do whatever he could to protect his family. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wanda, Pietro!” The twins looked up to see Laura waving them over, “Time to head home.”. The two gave a gentle smile, heading to where the family was. Lila flashed them a small smile, standing between Cooper and Nate. “Come on, we’re gonna go grab food with aunt Nat and Bruce, then we’re gonna visit dad.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Waiting for the family, Natasha stood by the car. A smile formed on the woman’s face as Bruce walked over, taking his good hand in hers. “I’ll let them know that we’re going after them. Get the team ready, those stones aren’t going back by themselves.” Tugging his arm down and standing on her toes, Natasha planted a kiss on his chin, “See you in a minute.”. Bruce’s face turned a new shade of green, gingerly holding his cheek as Natasha headed over to the Barton’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valkyrie stood by the cliffs edge of New Asgard, staring at the water. “Am I disturbing your intimate moment with the waves?” Thor questioned, sitting down beside her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, I’m starting to like you more as a pile of dust.” Valkyrie stated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hearty laugh left the God of Thunder, patting the woman on the back, resulting in a punch in the side. “Ow! Have you been working out the last five years?” Thor questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Can’t handle me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fraid I can. As I have no intentions of leaving, my friend. You are stuck with me, we shall flourish here!” Thor beamed, embracing her tightly. Valkyrie rolled her eyes but couldn’t help a frail smile. No matter how many they lost, they would promise to keep moving forward to their best ability.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After setting up the device, Bruce was getting the final calculations set while Steve finished suiting up. “That is America’s ass.” Bucky murmured, running a hand through his trimmed hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” Natasha smirked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing.” Bucky hastily said, but Steve shot him a smirk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. OH. Oh wow, he knew what that look was and so did Natasha judging by that smug grin.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll um… let you two talk. I’m gonna steal Natasha for a second.” Bruce said, walking over to her. Getting some distance from the others, Bruce looked down at Nat, sighing a bit, “I… I tried bringing him back you know.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This surprised her, Natasha looking up to Bruce, “What do you mean?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When I did the snap I tried, I really tried for you.” Bruce frowned, “Because I know despite what you say… how you act, you loved Clint. Don’t. Don’t say anything, I know you do. You always wear your arrow necklace Natasha. You’ve gone through a lot more than anyone of us had, you went through it with him too. And I want you to be happy, so I tried to bring him back. Because… I really do love you Natasha. I want you to be happy… even if I’m not meant to be there with you.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before he even had a chance to walk away, Natasha clung to his side, resting her head on his side. “Bruce… Thank you, thank you so much. But please… I want you to know, I love you. Tall and green, short and lanky. I love you, I’m happy with you. I promise this isn’t some rebound or me trying to pretend you’re him. I love you for you.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning around, Bruce returned the hug, doing the best he could to rest his head on hers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two embraced a moment longer before joining the others. “Ready?” Bruce asked, approaching the controls. Steve nodded, holding the briefcase securely. “Alright. Sending you in 3, 2, 1.” In the blink of an eye Steve was gone, the team waiting for him to return. “Alright, bringing you back.”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Giving Steve a moment, Bruce pulled the switch. Steve let out a shaky breath as he stood at the center, turning to look at the team. While he was there… there was one thing he wanted so desperately to do, but he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to, he had a team here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Peggy was happy… she lived her wonderful life. But him and the others, they still had a path to continue. He still had a life to share with Bucky.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First off, apologies for any OOC moments. This is my first Avengers fic and I've been wanting to write it for a while now. I personally did not like Endgame and this is the version I came up with. I understand if some of you don't agree with these changes but please be civil.</p><p>STATUSES:<br/>Steve Rogers: DUSTED<br/>Tony Stark:<br/>Natasha Romanov:<br/>Clint Barton:<br/>Bruce Banner:<br/>Thor: DUSTED<br/>Wanda Maximoff: DUSTED<br/>Pietro Maximoff:<br/>Vision: DECEASED<br/>Scott Lang:<br/>Peter Parker: DUSTED<br/>Carol Danvers:<br/>James 'Bucky' Barnes:<br/>Sam Wilson:<br/>James' Rhodey' Rhodes: DUSTED<br/>Stephen Strange: DUSTED<br/>Wong: DUSTED<br/>Hope Van Dyne: DUSTED</p><p>T'Challa: DUSTED<br/>Okoye:<br/>Shuri: DUSTED<br/>Nakia: DUSTED</p><p>Peter Quill: DUSTED<br/>Gamora: DECEASED<br/>Rocket Racoon:<br/>Groot: DUSTED<br/>Drax the Destroyer: DUSTED<br/>Mantis:<br/>Nebula:</p><p>Laura Barton: DUSTED<br/>Cooper Barton: DUSTED<br/>Lila Barton:<br/>Nathaniel Barton: DUSTED<br/>Pepper Potts:<br/>Happy Hogan: DUSTED<br/>Jane Foster: DUSTED<br/>Darcy Lewis:<br/>Erik Selvig: DUSTED<br/>May Parker:</p></blockquote></div></div>
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